The Teenage Approximation
by SecretMel
Summary: AU. All of our beloved characters are attending Pasadena High School together. Penny and Bernadette don't associate with the guys, that is until their new friend Amy brings the two social groups together.
1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of the new school year. Sheldon and Leonard sat at their usual lunch table in the crowded cafeteria, waiting for Howard and Raj to come over with their trays.

"Did you want to swing by the comic book store after school today? The latest issue of Batman comes out at 4 o' clock." Sheldon said.

"Yeah sure. Raj can probably drive us if you don't want to walk." Leonard responded.

"Oh that's not necessary. It's supposed to be 75 degrees with a low pollen count this afternoon. If that's not ideal walking weather, I don't know what is." He responded.

Sheldon was a tall, gangly 16 year old. He was a senior in high school despite the majority of his age group being in 11th grade. His mother only let him skip one year when he was little to force him to socialize and experience 'normal high school' stuff. Leonard, Raj and Howard were all in the 11th grade, and considerably shorter than Sheldon. Together, they formed a fairly quiet, academically oriented group.

Raj and Howard finally made it to the lunch table. They were babbling about something that happened in physics class.

"I understand that your bridge held more weight than mine, but it was still pink." Howard said.

"Dude, it was Salmon, not pink. And it could be rainbow glitter for all it matters. I still kicked your sorry butt last period." Raj responded.

"You got lucky. Once I'm out of engineering school, you're going dooowwwwnnnn."

Sheldon broke up the conversation. "Gentlemen, please. Onto a more important discussion. Raj, Leonard and I will be walking to the comic book store this afternoon. He offered your vehicular services, but I assured him we'd reserve such for bad weather days."

Raj sat up straighter. "Just because I'm the one with a car doesn't mean I give free rides."

Howard jumped in. "Can I come too? I got my allowance this weekend, so I plan on stocking up."

"I suppose." Sheldon said as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Meanwhile, Bernadette was walking around the cafeteria with a coffee can. She was collecting donations for the Biology club so they could go on a trip to CalTech's Microbiology Lab. Her hair was half up and curled, and she sported chic dark glasses. It went well with her school-girl inspired outfit.

She made her way over to the guys' table. "Hi guys, would anyone here like to donate to the Biology club?"

"I'm sorry, but the money we brought to school is ear-marked for the latest issue of Batman." Sheldon explained.

Raj tilted his head a bit. "I've got a quarter left over from lunch that you can have." He said as he reached across the table to put it in the coffee can.

"Aw, thank you! Every little bit helps!" She said as she sauntered to the next table.

Howard watched her walk away. "I'd tap that."

"You'd tap anything that breathes. And has breasts." Raj said.

"Go talk to her then." Leonard suggested.

Howard quickly flashed him a look. "Oh yeah, sure. Because that would go well. Biology club aside, she hangs out with all those prissy chicks that look straight over my head."

"That's because they're all taller than you." Sheldon added.

At another table a few down from the guys, Penny sat sideways on a chair, talking to a large group of people. She was wearing a tight, white tank top and denim capri pants. Her hair was ironed straight with lighter blonde highlights. Penny saw Bernadette working the reject tables at lunch and walked straight up to her.

"Not now, Bernie. It's the first day. You can chit chat with the freaks and weirdos later. Come back to the table." She said as she pulled Bernadette by the arm back to the 'popular' table.

Leonard watched the whole thing happen and just stared in their direction.

Howard shook his head. "Yeah, if I'm out of my league then you're out of your mind. We're the freaks and weirdos Penny referred to. You're wasting your time just looking at her."

Leonard broke out from his daze. "I was just looking. It's a shame really. We could have babies that were smart and beautiful…"

"Not to mention imaginary." Sheldon said.

* * *

After lunch, everyone went to their respective classes. Sheldon went to multivariable calculus, which was populated by a handful of seniors that managed to finish advanced placement calculus in their junior year. Upon sitting down with the same students Sheldon was accustomed to seeing, he noticed a new face in the crowd. She had straight dark hair framing her face, thick glasses, a long sleeve t-shirt and a long denim skirt. She looked around the room for a second before taking a seat at the front of the class.

Sheldon tilted his head a bit, trying to verify that he never saw her before. He walked up behind her, still looking at her with confusion. She turned around and looked up at him.

"May I help you with something?"

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I've seen you before. And being that this class is a continuation of the Pasadena High School Fast Track Calculus Program, I feel like I should have seen you before."

She nodded. "Your logic is sound. However, I'm new here. I completed River Valley Academy's Calculus program upon being transferred to this school."

"Oh, well in that case, welcome. I'm Sheldon Cooper."

"Hello Sheldon. I'm Amy Farrah Fowler. I am in the 11th grade because my mother believes I should experience all 12 years of grade school, despite my advanced course load."

His eyes opened a bit wider. "Really? My mother has a similar philosophy, except I did get to skip 4th grade after an incident with my fellow classmates resulted in persistent bullying and physical threats to my genitalia's development. So I'm in the 12th grade currently."

Amy nodded. "Understood. There is an empty chair next to me if you wish to join me."

He grabbed the back of the chair. "Thank you." They sat down and mocked the rest of the class together.

* * *

When the bell rang, Amy and Sheldon parted ways. Amy looked at her schedule and walked toward the gym. She wasn't particularly excited about physical education, but it was a requirement at this school. She got to the locker room and went into a corner to change into her gym clothes. As she changed into her oversized gym t-shirt, her glasses fell off and hit the floor. Amy squinted at the floor to look for them when a petite blonde bent down to retrieve them for her.

"Here, you dropped your glasses." Bernadette said.

"Thank you for finding them for me." Amy responded.

"You're welcome." She said as she turned around to continue talking with Penny. Amy looked at the two blondes and felt conflicted. At her old school, she spent two years avoiding girls like them like the plague. But in one moment, a girl did something nicer for her than anyone ever did at the academy. Amy decided to take a shot and engage in conversation with them.

"I noticed that you both are wearing demi brassieres. I believe that in rigorous events such as physical education activities, sports bras provide the much needed support for our growing bodies." She said.

Penny and Bernadette slowly turned and looked at Amy. They remained speechless for a second.

"Um, okay whatever. It's fine." Penny said. She looked a bit freaked out at the new girl's attempt at conversation.

Amy recognized the cold stare of derision and turned back to her corner locker. Bernadette felt bad for Amy, since she seemed so alone, but really had no good segway between the bra comment and any other conversation.

During the actual gym class, the girls ended up playing volleyball. Amy was picked last for her team since she looked less than athletic. They played a full game while rotating who would serve the ball. Eventually, it was Amy's turn, and she did not have much experience with the game. She watched Penny serve overhand and tried to imitate her moves. She threw the ball up in the air and tried to punch it with her fist. Instead, she ended up hitting herself in the face with the ball and dropping her glasses again. She could feel the stares and snickers from the girls on the other side of the court. Bernadette was next to her and decided to pick up her glasses again.

"Here you go again. Try serving underhand. It's easier for beginners." Bernadette said as she handed over the glasses. She briefly motioned to Amy how to hit the ball. Amy nodded and rested the volleyball on her left hand. She quickly hit the ball upwards with her right hand and watched it soar over the net. Amy jumped up and smiled.

"Ooooh I did it! I really did it! This is fantastic! I'm a regular Kerry Walsh!" Amy said while smiling.

Bernadette smiled back at her. She knew that being barely 5 feet tall would make her virtually useless in the back row, so she decided to introduce herself.

"By the way, I'm Bernadette. What's your name? I've never seen you before today."

"I'm Amy Farrah Fowler. I attended River Valley Academy last year." She responded.

"Oooh the fancy prep school. I'm sure you'll like it here better. We have a more diverse student body, so everyone finds somewhere to fit in."

Amy shrugged. "That'd be nice. The only person that would have lunch with me last year was the janitor, and I eventually got in trouble for it. So, now I'm here in an attempt to increase my socialization."

Bernadette awkwardly smiled. "Well, good luck with that!"

"Thank you." Amy said. She then lowered her voice and spoke to herself. "Boy this is exciting! First day of school and I've already had a guy come up to me and introduce himself AND found a girlfriend to make small talk with in gym class! I think I might just learn to like high school!"


	2. Chapter 2

Amy went home that night and told her mother all about her first day at Pasadena High School. Although her mom was relieved to hear that she actually spoke to some of her fellow classmates, she did get apprehensive about her speaking to Sheldon.

"Amy, sweetheart. Don't start talking to these senior boys and getting in trouble. You're a nice girl. You'll ruin your education if you get pregnant."

Amy wrinkled her forehead. "Mom, I really don't think talking to a fellow classmate in multivariable calculus will result in pregnancy."

"It has to start somewhere, dear."

Amy rolled her eyes and went up to her room.

* * *

The next day, Amy got up bright and early for school. She put on a plaid mid-calf length skirt with a pink striped cardigan. She thought she looked pretty good, so she went off to school with a smile on her face. She made a few attempts to socialize with some of the girls in her morning classes to no avail. At one point, she even saw someone snickering and pointing at her. But luckily, she gained a thick skin at her last school, and carried about her day.

When lunch time arrived, she thought she would be sitting alone again like yesterday. But upon going to the shotty table by the door, she recognized Penny at the table in the back. Penny was wearing a tight t-shirt with stripes, similar to Amy's design, and a short black skirt. Amy perked up and waltzed over to that table.

"Hey t-shirt buddy. Can I sit with you?" She said confidently.

Penny looked over Amy's attire for a second, confused by the abundance of mismatched prints.

"Um, who are you?" Penny asked.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Amy Farrah Fowler. We have gym class together. Although I can tell from the bra straps showing through your shirt that you heeded my advice on wearing more supportive undergarments. Kudos!"

Penny didn't want to be mean, but this new girl was officially freaking her out.

"Um, yeah this table is pretty crowded as it is. I'm sorry." She said as she turned back around to talk to a nice looking guy with his arm around her chair. He was partially laughing at Amy for everything she said.

At that point, Amy decided to put down her head and turn back toward her lone table. Upon walking away without looking, she bumped into Sheldon.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry…. Oh hey, it's you." Amy said.

"Yes, it is me. I don't know how I could be anyone but myself, but noneless, I am me. And you're forgiven for bumping into me. FYI, this cafeteria gets quite crowded. You may want to walk with your head up to avoid future collisions." Sheldon explained.

"Noted. I was just walking back to my table in the corner." She said as she nodded in its general direction.

Sheldon looked for a second and then turned back to Amy. "Oh, you don't want to sit there. One table leg is shorter than the other three, making it far too distracting to enjoy a meal on it. Plus, it has a higher gum to clean undersurface ratio than all the other tables in this room."

"I don't really have much of a choice. No one wanted me to sit with them yesterday. And my hopes for today are quickly diminishing."

"Well then, come sit with us at my table." He offered.

Her eyes softened. "Really? You'd be okay with that? I wouldn't embarrass you in front of all your friends?"

He looked confused. "I don't believe so. I assume you eat your lunch similarly to the rest of us. I can't imagine you would do something outlandish enough as to cause embarrassment. Of course, I'm basing this entirely on my evaluation of your personality from when we met yesterday."

Amy smiled. "Thanks Sheldon, you're really nice."

"I know. It baffles me that more people don't see it."

They walked together over to his table. Leonard, Raj and Howard were already seated.

"Gentlemen, this is Amy Farrah Fowler. She will be joining us for lunch today." Sheldon announced.

They all looked up and welcomed her. Leonard raised an eyebrow since this was the first time he saw Sheldon willingly speak to a female that wasn't his sister.

Raj pushed his food around and kept quiet, since he really only spoke in front of women if forced to during class. Especially women his age. He found them terrifying.

Leonard spoke for the group. "Hi Amy. I'm Leonard, and this is Raj and Howard. Aren't you in our world history class?"

"Yes, although I don't care for the subject matter, it is a core requirement that I must take to graduate." Amy explained.

Howard smirked. "Ain't that the truth."

"Yes. That's why I said it."

They looked at Amy, confused by her lack of understanding sarcasm. Sheldon was less than phased. "You have to excuse my friends, they speak in tautologies quite often. Not to mention bad English."

Leonard shook it off and tried to get her to loosen up. "So, Amy, tell us a bit about yourself."

"You'll have to be more specific Leonard. So I know what bits to choose."

"Um, okay well, how did you end up at Pasadena High?"

She sat up a bit straighter. "I took a bus here. Thank you for asking."

Leonard shook his head again. "No, I mean, I'm assuming you're new here. Where did you go to school before and why did you transfer?"

"Well, I attended River Valley Academy for two years, where I was ridiculed and bullied by my classmates to a point where my only friend was the school janitor. But then his wife called me a series of names and insisted that I was having sexual relations with him. My mother felt it was best to send me to a public school after that with a more varied student body."

Raj and Howard just stared at her, letting their mouths gape a bit.

Leonard made a weird face. "Oh um, great. Well not great, but it's great to have you here. I hope you like it."

Amy nodded. "Thank you."

They maintained their typical conversations and Amy contributed where she saw fit. She was mainly excited to have somewhere to sit at lunch that didn't involve a boiler room.

Toward the end of lunch period, Amy noticed Bernadette crossing the room with a coffee can in her hands. Amy waved and motioned for her to come to the table. Bernadette made a fake smile and walked in her direction.

Howard looked at Amy. "You know her?"

"Yes, Bernadette's my new gal pal from gym class."

She got over to the table. "Hi Amy, what's up?"

"I just wanted to say hi. Look, I'm sititng at a table with my new friends!" Amy said with a big smile on her face.

Leonard, Howard and Raj tried to smile, but couldn't help feeling like they just ended up with two Sheldons.

"Oh that's nice. I'm glad to see things are working out for you."

"What's the coffee can for?" Amy asked.

"I'm taking donations for the Biology Club. We want to take a trip to CalTech's microbiology lab." Bernadette explained.

Amy's eyes lit up again. "Biology club? That sounds really cool! Of course CalTech's research in neurobiology is far more interesting, but I'm sure it'll still make for a nifty field trip."

Sheldon just shook his head. "Ah yes, another bright mind lost to the trivial world of Biology."

Amy just glared at him.

Bernadette smiled. "Well, we're always looking for new members if you're interested. We meet on Mondays in room 202 after school."

"Great! I'll be there!" Amy said.

"Fantastic! I'll see you there! Bye everyone." She said as she walked back to Penny's table.

* * *

Penny kept one eye on Bernadette the entire time. When she got back to the table, Penny just shook her head. "Look, it's cool and all that you like cutting up frogs or whatever, but do you have to be President of the Bio Club all the time?"

"I'm just trying to do my part! I think that new girl wants to join. Seems pretty interested in the sciences."

"She should try taking an interest in fashion. I have never seen so many patterns clash at once before." Penny said with a lower tone. "And she really has to stop talking to me about boobs. If she's a lesbian, that's cool and all, but I do NOT swing that way."

Bernadette laughed. "I don't think that's what she meant by it. She's just different. At least she found those smart guys over there to talk to."

"Yeah, I guess everyone needs friends. Anyway, Next Saturday night, Josh is having a party at his sister's house again. It's BYOB, but I'm sure people will be sharing anyway."

Bernadette made a disinterested face. "Alcohol? I don't know Penny. I promised my mother I wouldn't drink in high school."

"So don't drink. You can drive my car home if you want. I'll probably just crash there anyway. Sam's brother Alex is home from college that weekend and he is looking HOT nowadays. So I'm gonna convince him to go and see what happens." Penny said.

"Um, okay cool. I guess I could stop by."

"Awesome. We should go shopping with Trish that afternoon first. They have these really cute strappy sandals at the mall that I'm just dying to get!"

"Sounds fun." Bernadette said. She spent most of middle school being Penny's best friend, but grew increasingly concerned as they got older that they were growing apart. Penny looked like a high school dream and had boys flocking to her all the time. She just hoped that Penny's new popular party girl persona wouldn't ruin their friendship.

* * *

After lunch, Amy and Sheldon walked to their class together. On their way, Sheldon noticed that Amy kept looking in Penny's direction.

"I'm sorry, but is there a particular reason why you keep looking at the blonde female over there?" He asked.

She sighed. "No reason. She appears to be a friend of Bernadette's. I think her name is Penny. Do you know her?"

"No, and I don't care to."

"Really? I feel like every guy would like to know her. Flawless skin, golden locks…"

"Aesthetics aside, she is just like everyone else in this place. Obsessed with clothes, boys, and whatever other hokum teenage girls explore." Sheldon explained.

Amy wrinkled her forehead. "But I'm not like that. And I'm a teenage girl."

"I know. That's why I'm talking to you."

She just smiled. Amy felt like she actually made a real friend.

They got to class and listened to a jaded review of their last calculus course. Sheldon and Amy just scoffed at the teacher, mocking the way he belittled basic calculus.

On their way out, Amy stopped Sheldon before he could walk away. "Sheldon, I don't suppose I could have your cellular phone number. It would be nice to be able to contact a classmate outside of school hours for homework or socially related issues."

He nodded. "I don't see why not. Considering Leonard, Raj and Howard are a year behind me in mathematics, exchanging numbers with you would greatly benefit me as well. Not that I would ever need help, but there's nothing like a heated debate on the pros and cons of complex multivariable calculus formulae."

They exchanged numbers and went about their ways. Amy went to gym class and changed quickly. She noticed Bernadette and Penny walking to the same spot in the locker room as before. She wanted to say hi, but she was convinced Penny wanted nothing to do with her, like every other pretty high-schooler.

She packed up her day clothes to put into her locker and avoided eye contract with everyone. Bernadette noticed her evasiveness and felt bad.

"Penny, we should talk to her. I feel bad, she's all alone in a new school."

Penny made a face. "Oh she's fine. Besides, she seems to be fitting in with her own kind at lunch. She's doing fine."

"Yeah, but they're all guys. I bet she doesn't have any girlfriends." Bernadette said.

"I'm not about to pick up some pet project just to make you feel better. You heard her yesterday babble on about God knows what. It's weird." Penny said.

"Trust me on this one." Bernadette said as she looked over at Amy. "Amy, come here."

Amy wrinkled her forehead out of confusion, but approached the blondes anyway.

Bernadette smiled. "I never formally introduced you to my best friend, Penny. Penny, this is Amy."

Penny faked a smile. "Right, you introduced yourself in lunch today. Nice to meet you. I'm Penny, like she just said."

"Nice to formally meet you too." Amy said modestly.

Bernadette quickly spoke up to alleviate the potential awkward silence. "So, anything exciting happen on your second day of school Amy?"

"Well, I did just exchange numbers with a guy."

Bernadette perked up. "Oooh, you sly one. Who's the guy?"

"Well his name is Sheldon. He's quite intelligent, tall, a bit gangly, pretty into science fiction… and he's a year ahead of me academically."

Penny finally became interested in the conversation. "He's a senior?"

"Yes, but he's 16. He skipped the 4th grade. He probably would be in college by now if his mother didn't hold him back." Amy explained.

"Mmm yeah, that would totally make him hotter." Penny said.

"What would?" Amy asked.

"If he was in college." Penny said.

"Yeah, apparently college makes guys hotter." Bernadette said while giggling at Penny.

"I guess he's kind of cute. In a cocky, intelligent praying mantis kind of way."

Bernadette flashed Amy a forced smile. "Yep, nothing says sexy like a praying mantis…"

Penny just shook her head.

Dating was the last thing on Amy's mind at this point. She was just thrilled to have met someone that had things in common with her. And now she was thrilled that girls like Penny and Bernadette were giving her the time of day.


	3. Chapter 3

After school, the guys met up at Howard's house to play Halo. They sat around eating Oreos and drinking Mountain Dew while competitively playing their video games.

They were all vigorously pressing buttons on their controllers while yelling at each other.

"Who's shooting at me?! Who's back there?!" Sheldon asked.

"I'm like a freaking ninja, dude. I'm unstoppable." Raj said while fixated on the screen.

A few minutes later, they took a small break. Sheldon's phone made a dinging sound from his pocket. He opened it and half smiled before typing something. This continued in a pattern for the duration of the break, prompting Leonard to speak up.

"Texting someone?" He asked.

Sheldon put down his phone. "Yes, Amy Farrah Fowler and I exchanged numbers this afternoon and are now commenting on a particularly amusing statement Mr. Chapman made during class."

Howard looked a bit stunned. "You're texting the girl from lunch? How's you get her number so quickly?"

"She asked me after class if I would be willing to exchange phone numbers with her. I didn't see a good reason why not. She is quite intelligent and we do share a class together." Sheldon explained.

"Oh that's so cute. Two days into school and Sheldon's already got a girlfriend." Raj said in a mocking manner.

Sheldon shook his head. "She is not my girlfriend. She is just a girl who is now my friend. Unlike all of you, I do not waste my time trying to form relationships with the female members of our student body."

"Who said anything about relationships? I just want to get to know their student bodies…" Howard said in his typical sleazy way.

Leonard and Raj rolled their eyes.

"This is why you're single. Girls don't like to be objectified. They want to be valued and appreciated." Raj explained.

Leonard turned to him. "And how's that working out for you? You can't even talk to them."

Sheldon started to get annoyed with the conversation topic.

"Gentlemen, please. This is exactly why I choose not to participate in this hogwash. The mere subject matter alone turns all of you against one another. Now let's be mature adults and continue playing video games." Sheldon said.

* * *

Amy put down her phone after a round of texting with Sheldon. She sat up in her room, looking out the window. She could still see some kids walking home after school. Or maybe they were on their way to socialize. Either way, she watched a group of her peers walk down the street, laughing about something. Amy smiled, realizing that this school might just be her chance to be one of those students. It would take time, but perhaps she'd end up with real friends after all.

She looked at her phone again, scrolling through her text messages. Sheldon was the first person she ever met that understood her academically. While the rest of the world laughed at her for her appearance or verbiage, he never even noticed them. In a good way. She just hoped that Bernadette wasn't being nice to her for the sake of setting her up for ridicule.

Amy decided to open her math textbook and start thumbing through the weekend homework assignment. Even though she knew the material would come easy to her, she wanted to make sure she could give Sheldon a run for his money.

* * *

The weekend elapsed and Monday rolled around. Amy got off the bus and went to her homeroom. She sat in her seat reading "Of Mice and Men," which was a novel from the school's suggested reading list.

She had officially given up trying to socialize with the kids in her homeroom and tried to keep to herself. While she was reading, a nice looking guy walked by her desk and tripped over her bookbag. Amy looked horrified as she reached for it.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She asked.

He laughed it off. "Yeah, I suck."

From a few seats behind Amy, she heard some girl call out to this guy. "Chris, what the hell? You're ridiculous."

Amy made a mental note of this guy's name. He flashed a smile and handed Amy her bag. "I'm injury prone, you might want to keep this out of the way."

She took her bag and hung it behind her chair. "Alright, thank you. Will do."

"Catch ya later babe." He said as he walked back to his desk in the back. Amy felt her pulse quicken. She never experienced a young man speaking to her in a flirtatious manner before. Her confidence was quickly diminished when she heard the conversation behind her.

"Oh my God, you're so mean. Don't mess with that girl up there. She has enough problems as it is."

"You're no fun, Cara."

"I'm just saying, I haven't tried to dress like that since I was six. And when I did, my mom didn't actually allow me out of the house."

"Shhh, she's going to hear you." Chris said as he lowered his voice. Amy could still hear just fine as she pretended to read from her book. "Maybe she's trying to distract people from looking at her face."

Amy tried not to get visibly upset. Normally, these kind of things didn't bother her, but with her recent optimism towards this high school, she was hoping her days of mockery were behind her.

She excused herself from homeroom and went to the restroom. Amy stood in front of the mirror and just looked at herself. She was wearing a red, floral shirt with a denim jumper. She paired it with black leggings and her black loafers. She didn't feel very mismatched, but apparently her ignorance towards modern fashion was showing.

Eventually, she went back to class and grabbed her bag before going to History. This time, she recognized Howard, Raj and Leonard sitting on the far side of the classroom, playing with little paper airplanes. Amy stood at the door for minute to look at them. In less than a minute, she saw a jock throw something at Leonard's head, a girl laugh at Howard, and another guy call Raj gay. She noticed they were a bit hurt, but comforted by each other. Amy thought it was really cool that they managed to find each other and become friends.

The guys had the same fashion mishaps as Amy, dressed in mismatched prints and superhero attire. After observing, she noticed a seat behind Leonard and walked straight to it.

"Hello again. Leonard, may I take the seat behind you?" She asked.

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "Go ahead, at least I won't have to worry about you putting gum in my hair."

Amy took that as a compliment, meaning that Leonard trusted her not to ridicule him.

Howard sat in the seat next to Leonard. He leaned over to talk to Amy. "So, I heard you and Sheldon were texting this weekend. Is something going on with you two?"

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Howard, leave her alone. They're allowed to text. Don't do anything to piss her off; Sheldon needs all the friends he can get."

Amy didn't say anything for a second. She didn't realize that merely texting Sheldon was a sign that she was romantically interested in him. Although she had to admit she wasn't disinterested per say, she really didn't know him well enough to contemplate a relationship.

"No Howard, I am not romantically pursuing your friend, Sheldon, if that is what you're asking." She replied.

Raj sat in front of Leonard, and leaned back to whisper something to him. Leonard laughed. "Raj said we really need to re-evaluate ourselves if Sheldon gets a girlfriend before any of us do."

The guys laughed at the statement, confusing Amy. Apparently, even in their close circle, Sheldon was the odd one. Joking aside, she felt that Leonard was a pretty genuine guy.

Howard leaned forward to speak again. "Hey, you said you're friends with Bernadette, right? I don't suppose you can put in a good word for me."

"A good word for you? I really don't know much about you, other than you're interested in physical aesthetics, you have an affinity for turtlenecks…"

"It's a dickie." Howard corrected.

"Right. Well I suppose I can tell her that you didn't immediately judge and ridicule me upon our meeting in lunch last week. Some girls find that hot." Amy said.

Howard looked disappointed in her answer. Leonard shook his head again.

"Just talk to her if you think you've got a shot."

"Yeah, like that's ever worked for any of us." Howard replied.

Amy spoke up. "For the record, she appears to be very nice and sociable. I'm still trying to understand her friend Penny."

Leonard stopped Amy. "Trust me, she's not worth it. Penny is just one of those perfect teenage girls that won't give anyone imperfect the time of day. She's just going to hurt you if you try to talk to her."

"That was my first impression as well. Bernadette seems to think highly of her, which is making me wonder which of them is hiding their true personality under a thick exterior." Amy explained.

Their conversation was interrupted as class begun.

* * *

At lunchtime, Amy sat with the guys again. She decided that they were nice enough, and she really enjoyed being able to relax with her peers without being judged.

Howard and Raj sat down first, babbling about the newest Iron Man movie. Leonard eventually walked over with Sheldon, who seemed pleasantly surprised to see Amy already settled upon his arrival.

"Ah, good afternoon Amy." He said.

"Good afternoon. Did you have a pleasant weekend?" She asked.

"If your idea of pleasant is hiding in your room while your mother and sister argue about clothes, followed by being forced to attend church on Sunday, then yes. My weekend was pleasant."

Amy shook her head at his sarcasm. "My mother insists that I should socialize, but fears that my interactions with male students will lead to spontaneous gestation."

Leonard and Raj just looked around, feeling awkward with the sudden topic of conversation.

Howard got distracted at the sight of Bernadette walking to Penny's table with her lunch tray. "You know what, perhaps this is a new year, and I should just march right up to her and ask her out."

Amy shook her head. "Howard, you've made it clear that you've never formally introduced yourself to her. She's not going to accept a date invitation from a total stranger."

Sheldon nodded. "As much as I hate to admit my knowledge of such, Amy is right. Your chance of success is near zero."

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" Howard asked.

Amy sat forward. "You previously told me to put in a good word for you. How about I bring you up in a casual conversation and judge her reaction."

Before Howard could respond, Amy stood up and approached the "popular" table, as she denoted it in her mind. Penny glanced sideways and whispered to Bernadette. "Nerd Alert."


	4. Chapter 4

Amy approached Penny's lunch table, keeping her focus entirely on Bernadette.

"Good afternoon, Bernadette."

She smiled and turned towards Amy. "Good afternoon, Amy. What's up?"

"Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, I wanted to confirm our Biology Club meeting after school today." Amy said.

Bernadette nodded. "Yep, I'll be there. I already told some of them that you're coming."

Penny just sideways glanced at the two of them. She was biting her lip as the rest of the table just watched the interaction. In a way, Penny felt like they were judging her for having Bernadette as a friend.

Amy nodded back. "Fantastic. Also, I would like to have a word with you in private, if you have a moment."

Bernadette looked confused, wondering what Amy wanted to talk about. "Um, yeah sure. I have to go to my locker before my next class anyway. Let's walk there together."

As the two of them walked away into the hall, the guys watched from their lunch table.

Howard's mouth was hanging open. "Well I'll be damned, they really are a couple of gal pals, aren't they."

Leonard looked back towards Penny's table, confused by the fact that Amy just waltzed over there and Bernadette happily left with her. He noticed that Penny was watching the two girls leave, looking equally confused by the situation. She then looked back in Leonard's direction and they maintained eye contact for a brief second. Leonard quickly looked back down at his food.

"Oh God, she saw me looking at her." He said.

"Who?" Raj asked.

"Penny. Penny saw me looking at her." Leonard said.

Sheldon looked up at him with his eyebrows raised. "So?"

"She probably thinks I was staring at her. Not that I would stare at her. Then again, I'm sure she thinks everyone stares at her, being perfect and all." Leonard rambled.

Howard chuckled. "Oh it's funny that you still don't think you have a crush on Penny."

"How can I have a crush on her? I don't even know her. I'm just a male student that finds a female student attractive. End of story." Leonard explained.

Raj smirked. "And you guys think I'm the only one that has trouble talking to girls."

After a short conversation, the guys noticed that Amy and Bernadette were back in the cafeteria. They were standing by the door talking about something. Howard tried to figure out if this conversation was about him when he noticed Amy blatantly point in his direction. He quickly looked down and avoided eye contact with them.

Leonard looked up and noticed the girls. "Hey, I think Amy's talking you up now."

"Don't look!" Howard yelled. "I don't want to look desperate and needy. Just play it cool"

Leonard grimaced. "But you are desperate and needy."

"She doesn't need to know that." Howard replied.

When the girls parted ways, Amy came back to the table and sat down quietly. Leonard, Howard and Raj just stared at her for a minute, waiting for her to explain what happened.

Eventually, Howard spoke up. "Well? What did she say?"

"Well, she didn't actually know any of your names. Which surprised me since you all seem to know her and her friends fairly well."

Sheldon stepped in. "Correction. They only know their names and physical attributes. I'm sure none of them know much about Bernadette and her friends on a personal level."

Amy nodded. "Fair enough. Either way, she said that the 'little guy with the bowl cut' is kind of cute."

Howard leaned forward and smiled. "Wait, that's me right? Oh my God, did you hear that? She's interested in me! I should go talk to her."

As he went to jump up, Leonard reached up and pulled him down by his shoulder. "Amy also said that she didn't even know your name. Walking right up to her and asking her out is just going to get you laughed at by her friends. Plus, you'll just creep her out and she'll lose any interest in getting to know you at all."

Howard took a deep breath. "You're right. I've got to play it cool."

Amy picked up her sandwich to continue eating. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. She will be joining us for lunch tomorrow afternoon, if that's acceptable."

In unison, Leonard, Raj and Howard choked on their food. Sheldon just stopped what he was doing and turned to Amy. "That's unacceptable, Amy. I invited you to sit with us on the premise that you were unlike those other girls. Furthermore, you have not been part of our social group long enough to…"

Howard cut him off. "Bernadette wants to sit with us?!"

Raj turned pale. It was bad enough having one female at the table. Two was just far more estrogen than he could handle.

Leonard was half smiling. "She agreed to sit with us? Just like that?"

Amy sat forward. "Well, when she mentioned that she did not know any of you, I offered her the opportunity to get acquainted with all of you during tomorrow's lunch period by sitting with us. Apparently, she isn't thrilled with the group of people Penny chose to sit with this year. So she said yes."

Sheldon maintained his look of derision. "Amy, I'm disappointed in you. You're better than this."

Amy just coyly looked at Sheldon. "I'm glad you hold me in such high regard. However, you're just going to have to trust me on this one."

* * *

That afternoon in Biology Club, Bernadette introduced Amy to the group. There were 5 other girls and 3 guys in the club. Amy felt that they were all fairly nice and not particularly judgmental. However, she felt that most of them didn't have an extensive knowledge of the subject matter. It bothered her a little, but she knew that in any field she chose to study, this would be the case.

After the meeting, Amy walked out with Bernadette. Amy told her all about the incident that morning where her fellow students insulted her clothes and overall self.

"Aw, Amy. That's horrible. Don't let people like that bring you down. You need to have more confidence." Bernadette said.

Amy shrugged. "Well, after being laughed out of my last school, I've come to expect to be the object of ridicule. My mother says they're just mocking my self-respect and high intellectual capabilities."

Bernadette looked at Amy's clothes before speaking up. "I mean this in the nicest way, but you do have a unique style that may not be completely attractive to the trendier members of the student body. Hey! How about you come shopping with me and my friends this Saturday. We can get you some cute school clothes. Not that I want to change you, but it might help get some people off your back."

Amy got really nervous. "Shopping? With your friends?"

"Yeah. Penny and Trisha want to find something to wear to a party Saturday night, so we're going to the mall in the afternoon. I can ask them if you can come with us to the party too if you'd like."

Now Amy looked terrified. "I don't know, Bernadette. I'm not sure my mom will let me. She has strict rules about dress and socialization. Granted she does want me to make friends…"

Bernadette smiled. "Well, the offer stands if you decide to come."

"You really think Penny would let me? I think she kind of hates me."

"She doesn't know you. Everyone in high school is judgmental and shallow. Just give her a chance and I'm sure she'll give you a chance too."

Amy got home and ran up to her room. She looked in the mirror at her limp, straight hair and bulky glasses. She immediately took them off and tried to fluff her hair a bit.

She then threw herself on her bed and smiled. "Wow, I might actually get to hang out with the popular girls! This new high school ROCKS!"

* * *

After convincing her mother that she should go to the mall with her new girlfriend on Saturday, Amy went back to her room to do homework. Upon starting her calculus homework, she received a text message.

"_Amy, I've been informed that it is inappropriate for me to tell you to avoid socializing with Bernadette. As your new friend, I should realize that your need for female companionship does not detract from your intelligence level. However, in the future, please consult with me before inviting someone new to the lunch table._

_Regards,_

_Sheldon."_

Amy just smiled and nodded. She was somewhat amused by Sheldon's text message formality, but pleasantly surprised that he admitted fault.

_"Thank you, Sheldon. I assure you that I will follow your lunch time parliamentary procedure in the future. -Amy"_

* * *

At the Cooper residence, Sheldon sat in the kitchen eating some Teddy Grahams as an afternoon snack while texting Amy. Mary was hanging over the stove making dinner when she turned and noticed Sheldon smiling while texting.

"Well, don't you look chipper this afternoon? Is that one of your video game buddies texting you somethin' amusing?" She asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "No, this is a new friend of mine. Her name is Amy Farrah Fowler and she is new to our school this year."

Mary stopped stirring and faced Sheldon. "You're texting a girl?! Oh thank Jesus, there's hope for you after all."

Sheldon just rolled his eyes and continued texting. "She is in my Multivariable Calculus class."

Missy walked through the kitchen to grab a soda when Mary glanced over to her. "Missy, do you know anything about an Amy that Shelly has taken to lately?"

She looked at Sheldon. "Oh, is that your new girlfriend's name? The one in lunch, right?" Missy turned back to her mother. "They sit together over at the smarty pants table."

"Girlfriend? Shelly, why didn't you tell me?" His mother asked.

He sighed exasperatedly. "She is a girl. She is my friend. But I assure both of you, she is not my girlfriend."

Mary just laughed and walked over to Missy. "He can say what he wants, but he wouldn't know love if it ran him over with a tractor."


	5. Chapter 5

Tuesday came about quickly. Amy went to school that morning feeling pretty good. She wore a plain black skirt with a purple blouse that her mother bought her for church. She hoped that by doing so, she could avoid ridicule with her lack of standing out. Homeroom went by quickly to her surprise, leading her to History.

Amy sat down behind Leonard again. It took all of five seconds before Howard started whispering to Raj about sitting with Bernadette this afternoon. Amy was worried that he would get his hopes up, but she really didn't know Bernadette well enough to know what would happen.

Raj leaned over and whispered to Leonard. Leonard then turned to Amy and looked at her for a second before speaking. "Raj said you look very nice today."

She tilted her head. "Thank you. May I ask why he didn't tell me that himself?"

Leonard lowered his head. "Yeah, Raj has difficulty talking to girls."

"That's interesting how you've adopted Selective Mutism." Amy said as she looked over at Raj. "Well, in any event, I appreciate the compliment Rajesh."

He just smiled and nodded.

* * *

That afternoon in lunch, Amy and Sheldon sat down at their table while waiting for everyone else to join.

"I still can't believe you invited Bernadette to join our social group." Sheldon said.

"Relax, I highly doubt it's permanent. She just wanted to meet you guys. I'm sure she'll be back with Penny and the rest of the pretty people before the lunch period is over."

"Not to engage in gossip, but why exactly is she unhappy with her current seating arrangement?"

"Well, she's quite friendly with Penny, but I think Penny's other friends are a bit too self-centered and vapid for her taste." Amy explained.

"And Penny is not?"

"I don't know. Perhaps by assuming her shallowness, we're just as judgmental as the people we loathe."

Sheldon nodded, accepting Amy's hypothesis. "By the way, I'm attending a particle physics symposium at Caltech tomorrow evening."

"I'm assuming you wish to study physics in college." Amy said.

"I already study physics. But yes, I will continue such on a university level next year. As I was saying, this symposium will discuss their latest research in superstring theory, quantum gravity, and quantum field theory." Sheldon explained.

"Sounds cute." Amy said.

"Cute?! In what way is physics 'cute'?"

She smirked. "Relax Sheldon, I think it's admirable that you show a passion for physics which is similar to mine in Neurobiology."

"Thank you. The symposium is tomorrow evening at 6:30. I was wondering if you'd like to join me." He asked.

Amy stuttered for a second. "You… you want me to go with you? Are the other guys coming?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I didn't invite them. Despite their interest in the sciences and engineering, I don't believe they are intellectually capable of understanding graduate research yet." Sheldon explained.

Amy scrunched her eyebrows. She thought Leonard, Howard and Raj seemed quite intelligent. For Sheldon to hold her well above their levels made her feel pretty special. "So, you want me to keep you company?"

"Yes. And I think you might enjoy it. I find it to be rather amusing to ask questions about their inconclusive research during the Q&A at the end. Makes the speakers 'shake in their boots,' if you will."

She smiled. "Okay sure, I'll come with you. Thank you for thinking of me."

"Great. It's a date then." Sheldon said, unaware of any implications his last sentence had.

Amy blinked oddly.

_Date? Did he say date? Sheldon asked me on a date?!_

She blushed slightly as she looked at Sheldon. It felt good to be liked.

Howard and Raj came over and sat down, looking creepily happy. Leonard soon followed, making a confused face at the lack of a tray in front of Howard.

"Um, I know it's really not my business, but why aren't you eating lunch today?" Leonard asked.

"Are you kidding me? Bernadette is coming over here to meet me essentially. I can't smell like tuna or onions!" Howard said.

Amy looked up and saw Bernadette walking into the cafeteria. She got her lunch and walked over to Penny. Amy saw them whispering about something, causing Penny to raise her eyebrows in shock. Bernadette then walked over to Amy's table. Penny still had her eyebrows up, looking over at Amy wondering what just got into her best friend.

"Hi guys, I'm Bernadette." She said as she sat down between Amy and Howard.

Amy smiled. "Welcome. This is Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and…"

Howard cut her off. "Enchanté mademoiselle. Howard Joel Wolowitz at your service." He said as he extended his hand to Bernadette.

She just smiled and shook his hand. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Raj rolled his eyes and picked up his fork.

Leonard tried his best to be friendly. "So, Bernadette, did you ever get those donations you were looking for?"

She leaned forward. "Well sort of. We're still about $300 short. But we have a few weeks to do some fundraising.

Howard leaned over to Bernadette. "You could always make a Girls of Biology Club calendar to raise money."

Sheldon rolled his eyes as Bernadette started to get a little weirded out by him.

Leonard jumped in. "Howard just means that you could have some sort of a sale to help with fundraising."

"Well, I suppose. We could always do a bake sale. A lot of other school clubs do that to raise money." She responded.

Howard sat back. "What a coincidence. My mother has a fantastic rugelach recipe. I could always have her make some and bring them in for you."

"Really? That's be great! I'll talk to the group next week and see if everyone else is on board with the idea." Bernadette said while beaming.

"Anything to help." Howard said. Amy and Sheldon just glanced at each other. Even Amy knew Howard well enough to know his intentions were less than pure.

A rather tall, athletic guy walked by the table and stopped when he saw Bernadette. "Hey Bernie, you going to Josh's party Saturday?"

"Um, I think so. At least for a little bit."

"I can pick you up if you want. That way you don't have to worry about driving home." He said with an innuendo.

Bernadette looked a bit uncomfortable. "No thanks, Andrew. I'll be fine."

"Okay, whatever." He said as he walked away.

Howard looked annoyed. "Who was that guy?"

"Andrew Prince. He's on the basketball team. He's friends with some of the guys Penny talks to. He's been trying to ask me out since last year."

Howard looked sincere. "He seems like a real jerk."

Bernadette perked up and faced Howard. "I know! I keep hearing from the other girls that he's cute and I should hook up with him, but I'm really not interested. He's not very nice and frankly, the thought of kissing him is kind of nauseating. I wish guys knew that women don't like to be treated like objects."

Raj leaned over to Howard and whispered to him. "Told you."

She continued. "I mean, it's fun and all to go to a party and make-out with a cute guy, but I still expect a degree of respect. You know?"

Howard tried not to let his jaw drop too far. "Um, yeah, totally. I completely agree."

Sheldon lifted his head in confusion. "No you don't. You're the epitome of… OW!"

Amy kicked him under the table to shut him up.

He looked back at her. "What was that for?"

Amy shook her head and whispered. "Howard is never going to successfully woo Bernadette if you tell her that he's everything she doesn't want. Even if it is true."

They spent the rest of the lunch period talking about their overprotective mothers and various members of the student body. At the end of their conversation, Bernadette promised to come back again the next day to resume their conversation.

When the lunch period ended, Penny grabbed Bernadette by the arm and pulled her into the hallway.

"Why did you ditch me today? Penny asked.

"I didn't ditch you. I just didn't feel like listening to those stupid guys go on about sports and sex and alcohol." Bernadette explained.

"Come on Bernie, don't be such a stick in the mud. It's not like I've ever asked you to do something you didn't want to. You're still my BFF right?"

"Of course."

"Then come back to our table. I can tell Andrew to leave you alone if that's the problem." Penny offered.

"I don't like him very much, but it's not that. I don't know. I know you think Amy's a weirdo, but it's kind of cool hanging out with the smart kids. We get to talk about different stuff."

"Are you saying I'm not smart?"

"Penny, stop it. You're smart too. But you're not exactly excited about biology and physics." Bernadette said.

"Physics is the one where the guy got hit in the head with an apple, right?" Penny asked.

Bernadette slowly nodded. "Right… So you see, I'm just trying to meet new people, that's all. You can always join us."

Penny laughed. "Right. Why not bring the dumbass over to the smart table. I'll have a reputation for being a nerd without actually being one. Definitely what I was going for…"


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Amy got to school a bit early and spotted Sheldon in the hallway. She stopped him to confirm their plans for the evening.

"Sheldon, I wanted to verify that we are still attending the seminar at 6:30 pm."

"Verified. Are you in possession of a vehicle?" He asked.

She paused for a second. "Um, my mother lets me drive her car once in a while, but I don't own one myself. Why?"

"I wanted to know if you were going to pick me up or if I needed to ask my mother to bring us." Sheldon explained.

"Oh." Amy said, scrunching her eyebrows. "You don't have a car?"

"No."

"And you can't borrow someone else's?" She asked.

"I could. But it wouldn't do any good. I don't drive." Sheldon said.

"Why not?"

"I have more important things to think about than driving. So I choose not to."

Amy looked confused. "So you have no intentions of ever driving?"

Sheldon nodded. "That is correct."

Amy sighed. She couldn't really fault Sheldon for not having a car. But she was really starting to wonder what kind of date this would be if his mother tagged along.

"Alright, then I will pick you up tonight at 6:00. Can I have your address?" Amy asked.

She wrote down his address and texted her mother that she would be borrowing the car this evening for a university seminar.

* * *

At lunchtime, Bernadette sat with the gang again, to the dismay of Penny and her friends. To their surprise, Raj came over to the table looking quite chipper.

"Hello everyone. Hello again Bernadette." He said, sounding a bit sleepy.

The guys all looked at him like he was crazy. Amy tilted her head. "You're talking in front of me?"

"Yes. Last night I came down with a cold, so I took some liquid medicine. Now I feel amaaaaazing. And apparently I can talk to girls." He explained.

Sheldon looked over to Amy. "Ah, drug induced speech. This can't possibly have any negative side effects."

Raj continued. "So Bernadette, have you ever gone out with an Indian guy? There's a reason our culture wrote the book on Kama Sutra."

Howard looked directly at Raj, horrified that he was flirting with Bernadette. "Dude, knock it off."

Bernadette just smiled. "No, I haven't. I'll have to take your word for it."

Raj proceeded to sneeze quite loudly. Sheldon jumped out of his skin and pulled his tray close to him. When Raj sneezed again, Sheldon stood up with his tray and grabbed Amy's arm.

"Come on Amy, let's leave this germ infested table."

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"We'll eat in Mr. Chapman's class room. The room isn't utilized during this period since he eats in the department office." He said.

Amy smirked. "Ooh, sneaking off to an abandoned classroom before the first date. I feel like a bad, bad girl."

Bernadette and Leonard chuckled at her remark. Leonard wanted to offset some of the awkwardness at the table, so he leaned toward Raj. "Come Raj, let's get you some coffee from the teacher's lounge."

He just smiled. "Why, I feel fine. I don't need any coffee. It's Bernadette that could use a little mocha…"

Leonard grabbed Raj's shirt sleeve. "Let's go, now!" He said as he dragged Raj out of the room.

Bernadette and Howard just sat there looking at each other for a minute.

Howard smiled. "I'm really sorry about that. Let's just hope the guy never takes up drinking."

She laughed, and they continued to make small talk for the rest of the lunch period. Upon leaving, Bernadette grabbed Howard's phone.

"Hey, can I play with your phone for a sec?"

Howard was a bit dumbstruck. "Um, yeah sure, go ahead. Just don't go on the internet and look at my browser history."

She smiled and pressed some buttons on his phone. "There, my number's in here now. Text me some time." Bernadette said as she walked away.

Howard's mouth gaped again. "Um, okay, great! Will do!" When she walked away, he jumped up and grabbed his bookbag. "Oh my God, she likes me!"

* * *

Amy and Sheldon sat in the back of the empty classroom, eating their lunches and talking about recent news in the world of science. They were equally fascinated by what the other one had to say. For the first time, Amy saw Sheldon smile in a natural way. She was starting to think that he really did like her and that maybe something was brewing between them.

She looked down for a second. "Sheldon, I want to say thank you."

"You're welcome. But what specifically are you thanking me for?" He asked.

"For being nice to me. And for being my friend. I know it's only been a few days, but this is the closest I've ever felt to anyone my age that wasn't family." She said humbly.

He smiled. "You know, I must say, I agree with you. I think you're more like me than anyone I've ever met."

Amy smiled and blushed a bit. She could definitely see something brewing between her and Sheldon. A moment later, students began entering the room and they returned to their typical seats.

* * *

That night, Amy arrived at Sheldon's house a few minutes early. Right away, she was greeted by his mother waving her in at the door.

"Amy, sweetheart, come inside and say hello."

Amy parked the car in front of the house and went inside. His mother and sister seemed rather enthusiastic while Sheldon looked entirely disgruntled and exasperated on the couch.

"Hi there, Amy. I'm Sheldon's mother. You can call me Mary, if you'd like. And this is my daughter Missy."

Amy looked Missy up and down quickly. She was a bit taken back by her crystal brown hair and tall, buxom physique.

"Hi Amy, I'm Missy. It's so nice to meet you. Shelly told us all about you this weekend."

Amy raised an eyebrow at Sheldon. She was surprised he discussed his personal life with anyone.

Sheldon stood up. "Wonderful, now that we've exchanged pleasantries, may we leave?"

"Oh, Shelly, don't be so rude. Amy, did you have dinner? I can fix you up somethin' nice before you kids leave. Or how about a cola?" Mary asked.

Amy shook her head. "No, thank you. My mother prepared an adequate meal this evening."

Sheldon walked over to Amy and stood right next to her. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, we have a seminar to attend. And I will be most unpleasant if I do not get to choose my seat before everyone else arrives."

Missy folded her arms. "And that ain't a threat. He really turns into Mr. Cranky Pants."

Amy smirked. She really didn't mind the banter. She never went on a date before, so she didn't know what to expect with meeting Sheldon's family. Then again, she didn't think she'd be going on a date with a guy from her new school just days after they met.

Sheldon opened the door and lightly pushed Amy out by her arm. "Alright, we're leaving. We'll be home by 9pm. Goodbye Mother. Goodbye Missy."

Missy put her hand up to her mouth for a second before removing it to say goodbye.

When the door closed behind them, she grabbed her mother's arm. "Momma, did you see that? He touched her arm. My little germaphobe brother actually touched a girl's arm."

Mary smirked. "Cute as that may be, that better be all he's touching."

* * *

Before Amy and Sheldon knew it, the seminar was over and they were on their way home. Amy was still gloating at how well Sheldon stumped the presenter with his commentary.

"Sheldon, not that I ever doubted your brilliance, but I must applaud you on your extensive knowledge of theoretical physics."

He smiled. "Oh no need for flattery. I pride myself on such. But thank you for noticing. You're one of the few that is intelligent enough to see that."

She lowered her head. "You really think so?"

"I don't think so, I know so. You've made multivariable calculus quite interesting by keeping up with me. I find your presence to be rather enjoyable, which is odd since I normally do not find pleasure in keeping anyone's company."

Amy smiled as she parked the car in front of Sheldon's house. She looked over to him and saw a twinkle in his eye. Her heart started to race knowing that the date was over and that typical high school protocol dictates a goodbye kiss for the end of a first date. Normally, she'd be completely adverse to dating or physical contact, but Sheldon made her feel at ease.

He looked at his cell phone quickly to see the time. "Well it's late. I must go now. Thank you for the ride and pleasant evening."

"Of course, we should do this again sometime." She said as she bit her bottom lip.

"I agree. Well, goodnight!" Sheldon said as he opened up his door and stepped out of the car. He closed the door and walked toward his house.

Amy just froze for a second. She was a bit relieved that she didn't have to be nervous anymore, but moreso concerned at her disappointment. Amy sat back and sighed. "We just met last week; this is stupid. There's nothing to be upset about. Come on Amy. There is no reason to want to kiss a boy you just met." She said to herself.

And with that, she drove back to her house, wondering what he would say tomorrow at school.


	7. Chapter 7

Thursday morning, Amy arrived at school a bit early. She had spent the night wondering if she was crazy for expecting Sheldon to kiss her. Especially since they were new friends. She convinced herself that it was way too soon for that kind of relationship and that she should stick to her guns about not dating.

She was surprised that she didn't see Sheldon that morning by his locker. Amy knew he was quite the creature of habit, and for him to be late to school seemed odd. But, she shrugged it off and went to homeroom.

Later on in Chemistry, she sat behind Leonard per usual. Upon taking her seat, she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Leonard. Do you know if Sheldon is absent from school today?" She asked.

He wrinkled his forehead. "Um, he's here. I saw him earlier in the hallway. Why?"

She sat back and started to worry that he was avoiding her. "No reason, just didn't see him yet."

Leonard tried to continue the casual conversation. "Didn't you guys go to a physics seminar last night? How was it?"

Amy sighed. "It was quite informative for those that do not understand rudimentary string theory."

Leonard chuckled. "So in other words, Sheldon stumped the poor presenter again."

She tried her best to look calm. "Precisely."

After class, Amy stopped at her locker to put her textbook away. She looked down the hall and spotted Bernadette coming her way.

"Hey Amy, how's it going? How was your big date last night?" Bernadette asked.

Amy felt her stomach drop again. "Um, it was good. I guess. I'm not so sure it was a date. I picked him up and met his mother and sister briefly. Then we went to the seminar and I brought him home. That was it."

"Aw, you guys just met. I'm sure he's just being a gentleman. If he brought you in to meet his family, it's because he likes you. I'm sure of it." Bernadette said.

Amy felt a bit reassured. "Thanks."

"So, you're still coming shopping with us Saturday, right?"

"I think so. Are you sure Penny's okay with it?" Amy asked.

"Of course. I told you, she's nicer than most people think." Bernadette smiled and looked down the hall behind Amy. "Okay, I got to run. I'll see you at lunch!"

Amy turned and waved her goodbye. She was really happy that Bernadette befriended her, but she was still majorly concerned about interacting with Penny. In her mind, Penny was one of those high school dreams from the movies. The kind of girl that every high schooler wanted to be. She had a hard time believing someone like that would want to be her friend.

But Amy decided she could give it a shot anyway.

* * *

At lunch, Amy finally spotted Sheldon sitting at his usual spot at their table. She was happy to see that he wasn't avoiding her as she suspected earlier.

"Good afternoon, Sheldon. May I ask why I didn't see you this morning at your locker?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes, well, it seems that depending on my sister for a ride was a mistake, since she seems more concerned with makeup and hair products than tardiness."

Amy was pleased with his answer. "Well, why don't you take the bus?"

"I would have, except my bus pants are in the hamper, and I do not do laundry until Saturday night." He explained.

"Why Saturday night?"

Sheldon looked at her like she just said something stupid. "Because Saturday night is laundry night."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Right, of course."

The rest of the gang, minus Leonard, made it over to the table in no time. Amy was partially surprised that Bernadette was sitting with them for a third day in a row. She could tell that she was partially enamored by Howard, which Amy didn't understand for the life of her.

About 15 minutes into the lunch period, Amy noticed a disgruntled Penny marching over to their lunch table. Amy panicked, worrying that the anger would be directed toward her.

Penny went right up to Bernadette. "Bernadette, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Bernadette just smiled. "Of course, go ahead. I'm listening. Oh and by the way, these are my friends. Howard, Raj, and Sheldon. And you already know Amy of course."

Penny glanced around the table quickly and did her best fake smile. "Hi…. Nice to meet you." She said before grabbing Bernadette's arm and pulling her to the side.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Penny lowered her voice. "You said you'd come back to our table. Why are you still over here? People are starting to talk!"

"So let them talk. I made some new friends and I'm not ashamed. I think the one next to me is kind of cute." Bernadette said while smiling at Howard.

Penny took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm sorry if you don't like our lunch table, but you don't have to sit over here just to make a point."

"I'm not. I like them. They're smart, and they make me feel smart. I already told you, you should sit with us too."

At that point, they were distracted by Leonard rushing into the cafeteria and over to the table.

"Guys, you won't believe what just happened upstairs! Mr. Burke was doing a lab experiment using nitrocellulose which caused the sprinklers to go off. Now all the test tubes containing sodium for tomorrow's experiment just exploded!" Leonard exclaimed.

Everyone's eyes lit up except for Sheldon's. Immediately, Howard and Raj jumped up to follow Leonard back upstairs.

Bernadette lit up too. "Oooh I want to see too! Come on Amy!" She said.

Amy politely pushed in her chair and followed Bernadette out of the room. Penny just stood there dumbfounded, wondering what could be so exciting about a wet classroom. She then looked down and noticed Sheldon hadn't moved.

She walked over to the side of him and folded her arms. "Why didn't you go? Aren't you into that crap too?"

Sheldon kept his eyes fixated on his lunch. "Ah yes. A damp classroom, broken glass, and panicked faculty. I wouldn't want to miss that."

Penny raised an eyebrow at his sarcasm. "Well your little friends seem to think it's cool."

He looked up at her. "As did your little friend just a moment ago."

She tilted her head. "Touche."

Sheldon went back to his lunch. When Penny didn't move for a few seconds, he turned back toward her. "I'm sorry, you're still here. Do you need something?"

Penny looked a bit annoyed. "Hey, this is my school too. I can stand wherever I want!"

"Likewise, I can sit where I want." He said as he went to stand up and move his tray.

"Seriously, you're going to change seats because I'm standing here?" She asked.

"If you don't move, what choice do I have?"

She was really thrown off at this point. Except for the occasional ex-boyfriend, Penny never had a guy blow her off like that. She immediately grabbed a chair and sat down at the table. "You don't even know me. How can you possibly be convinced I'm that bad if you know nothing about me?"

He sighed. "Your name is Penny. You use your popularity and physical attributes to get what you want. You share no classes with my social group, implying that you do not have a rigorous course-load, and you have an affinity for a Japanese feline."

Penny scrunched her eyebrows. "A Japanese what?"

Sheldon shook his head. "Hello Kitty."

"Oh come on, it's cute. I've been collecting them since I was little. And by the way, I have gym class with both Amy and Bernadette. So there, you're wrong." She said smugly.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that physical education was an indicator of one's academic prowess." Sheldon replied.

She shook off his insult. "Okay, so Amy said your name was… Sheldon?"

"Correct. Are we done yet? I find small talk to be utterly tedious."

She snickered. "Since you know so much about me, tell me something about you."

Penny kept Sheldon engaged in conversation for a little while. She had her fair share of interactions with nerds before, but she never met someone so annoyed by her as Sheldon. In a way, she was intrigued by his lack of empathy and interest toward other people.

Down the hall, Bernadette and Amy walked back toward the cafeteria. The guys were behind them laughing about the mess in the chemistry lab when Bernadette looked around suddenly. "Hey guys, where's Sheldon? He didn't come with us?"

Amy shrugged. She didn't really think about it. She just assumed Sheldon would follow.

Leonard chuckled. "I'm sure he'll have some sort of excuse involving unsanitary conditions or something."

While the guys remained in the hallway for a bit with Bernadette, Amy decided to go back to inside the cafeteria to check on Sheldon. She stopped dead in the doorway and froze at the sight of Sheldon and Penny sitting together at his table. All Amy could think is that Sheldon lied to her about not knowing Penny and not being interested in her. Then she started to wonder if that's why Sheldon didn't make a move on their date. Maybe he was interested in Penny.

Amy quickly turned around and bumped into Bernadette.

"I'm sorry Amy." She said. Bernadette noticed that Amy was flustered. "Are you okay? Your face is all red."

Amy swallowed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some air. I'll see you in gym later." She said as she rushed by everyone to go outside.

Howard walked up to Bernadette. "What's up with Amy?"

"I don't know." She said. "I hope she's okay…"


	8. Chapter 8

Amy sat outside on a bench by the side doors. She started to remember all the mean things the kids did to her at her last school. All the insults they threw at her. All the times they laughed at her. But never did they pretend to be nice to her just to hurt her in the long run. She felt betrayed by Sheldon. Not that he did anything to her directly, but she couldn't imagine why he would claim to have no interest in Penny when he clearly knew her well enough to hang out at lunch. Amy was mostly mad at herself for liking Sheldon.

She took a deep breath and started to think.

_Come on Fowler, there has to be a reasonable explanation for this._

* * *

The gang made their way back to the cafeteria when they all noticed the same sight Amy saw a moment earlier.

Bernadette stood in the doorway and smiled. "Hey, check that out. Penny's actually talking to Sheldon! I told you she was nice."

The three guys just stood there with their mouths gaping a bit.

Leonard started to blink oddly. "Is that really Penny he's talking to?"

Howard just stared. "Dear God, we've entered the twilight zone…"

But Bernadette was less than phased. She took this as an opportunity to get Penny integrated with her new social group. She marched right up to the lunch table and the guys soon followed. On the way, Raj started whispering to Howard.

Howard responded. "Jealous? Of what? Talking to Sheldon? I didn't know it was possible for anyone to be jealous of that." Raj continued to whisper. Howard raised his eyebrows. "Alright, I'll tell Sheldon. Now get your lips out of my ear."

Bernadette grabbed a chair and sat down next to Sheldon. "So, what are you kids chatting about?"

Penny just rolled her eyes. "Oh, nothing really."

Sheldon looked annoyed. "Nothing? If we were chatting about nothing, then we wouldn't be chatting at all. Which I've already expressed to be my preference."

Leonard just smiled. "Looks like you're getting the full Sheldon experience from your first conversation with him. Kudos."

Penny smirked. "Yeah, I see that. You're Leonard, right?"

He froze for a second. "Um, yeah. You know my name?"

"Yeah, Bernadette just introduced you guys a few minutes ago."

Leonard snapped out of it. "Oh, right. I forgot. I thought that maybe… you had seen me… or that you knew me… but you really can't just know me without talking to me… I mean you can talk to me… or not."

Sheldon shook his head. "With an IQ as high as his, it's amazing that he still has the conversational skills of a marine mammal."

Howard jumped in. "Hey Sheldon, Amy seemed pretty upset about something a minute ago. You should go talk to her. She ran out the doors at the end of the hall."

He looked up. "I hardly think so."

Bernadette spoke up. "Maybe I should go talk to her."

Howard shook his head. "No no, I think that Sheldon should definitely go talk to her."

Sheldon looked confused. "Why do I need to speak to her? Amy's a very level-headed and rational person. I'm sure if she wanted to speak to me, she would have."

Penny looked at Sheldon. "Aren't you like her boyfriend or something?"

The gang froze for a second, waiting for his answer.

"Amy is a girl, who is my friend. But she is not my girlfriend." He replied.

"Well why not? You guys look cute together. You should ask her out." Penny said.

Raj leaned into Howard again. "I like this Penny girl. She has, as you would say, 'chutzpah.'"

Sheldon shook his head. "I assure you, Amy Farrah Fowler has more important things to worry about than the social construct of 'dating.' But if it'll make everyone stop nagging me, I'll go talk to her." He proceeded to stand up, push in his chair, and make his way out of the cafeteria.

A tall, muscular guy came over to the table and put his arms around Penny from behind. "Hey baby, I'm headed out. You coming with me? We can go check the back of my car for 'homework' again." He said.

Leonard just looked this guy up and down. He immediately hated him for appealing to Penny, but was equally intimidated by his size.

Penny giggled and hit him lightly with her purse. "O-M-G stop that. You're so bad. That was a one-time shot and you know it." She turned back toward the group. "I'll catch you guys later. Nice meeting you!" She said as she walked away with the guy.

Howard looked around awkwardly. "So, is that her… boyfriend?"

Bernadette shook her head. "Penny doesn't have a boyfriend. Ever since Eddie broke up with her at the sophomore dance, she decided she's just going to hook-up with whoever she wants. I think she has commitment issues now, but don't tell her I said that."

Leonard couldn't help but listen as he watched her walk away. He now had hope that she might be nicer than he originally thought. Maybe he had a tiny chance after all.

* * *

Outside, Sheldon found Amy sitting on a bench sulking.

"Ah, there you are Amy. Is there anything you would like to talk about?" He asked.

Amy looked up at him with a sideways glance. "You came out here to talk?"

"Well, my friends insisted that I was the only one that could cheer you up."

She sat up straight. "And why is that?"

Sheldon shrugged. "I haven't the slightest. I tried to explain to them that if you wanted to talk to me, you would have sought me out yourself."

Amy turned away and looked down. "So, how was your conversation with Penny?"

He sat down next to Amy. "Tedious, redundant, and irritating."

She turned to Sheldon. "So why were you talking to her then?"

"After you left, she remained hovering over our lunch table. Despite my best efforts, she wouldn't leave. When I tried to move, she sat down and started arguing with me." He explained.

Amy looked confused. "About what?"

"She claimed I didn't know her well enough to dislike her. I, of course, proved otherwise. But, being the kind person that I am, I humored her and answered her questions for a bit. I can't imagine what Leonard finds appealing about that girl."

She swallowed. "So, you're not secretly friends with Penny? And you're not interested in her at all?"

Sheldon gave her a disappointed look. "No. Is this what made you upset? You thought I lied to you about my relationship with Penny?"

"Well, yeah."

"Amy, I know I succeed at nearly everything, but I can assure you that I do not lie. On that note, I am also not fond of secret keeping, for future reference."

She smirked. "Thanks Sheldon. I'll try to be more logical next time I'm concerned."

He smiled. "I'd appreciate that. In fact, I'm quite surprised you thought I'd be interested in pursuing a relationship with Penny, or anyone for that matter. People like you and I are above those tedious social constructs."

Amy scrunched her eyebrows. She was happy that Sheldon wasn't about to run off with Penny, but not thrilled about Sheldon's distaste for relationships. But, as long as he grouped the two of them together, she was okay with it. She wasn't even entirely sure she wanted to be in a relationship. She just knew that if she did decide to be in one, it would probably be with him.

_He looks a bit like a sexy praying mantis… Ack, Amy stop that!_

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you for speaking with me. Let's go back to the cafeteria."

On their way, Amy continued to talk. "So what are you doing this weekend?"

"Well, Friday night is Halo night. And Saturday night is laundry night. Other than that, I plan to continue work on an experiment I devised pertaining to m-theory."

Amy nodded. "Interesting. My plans are far less cemented and academically inclined. I'm going shopping Saturday with Bernadette, Penny, and their mutual friend."

Sheldon stopped in his tracks. "You just spent the last 8 minutes wallowing about my interactions with Penny when you're actually going out of your way to see her?"

"It's just shopping. And it was Bernadette's idea, not mine." She explained. "They're shopping for outfits for a party that night."

"And are you accompanying them to this charade?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'd have to ask my mother. It would be my first high school party…"

"Which is one more than you need to attend."

"Oh come on, Sheldon. It seems to be open invitation, if you would like to come with me."

He started walking again. "No."

She walked with him and smiled. "You could be my date to the party…"

"Or you could not go."

She smirked, as she expected that to be his reaction. At that moment, she linked arms with Sheldon.

He looked down at his taken elbow. "What are you doing exactly?"

Amy looked off to the side and smiled. "An experiment."


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for your kind reviews. I wanted to address something quickly.

For those of you who keep messaging me wondering if this is a "Shamy" or "Shenny" story, I regret to inform you that I will not be revealing information about this story that is not already written in a posted chapter. This story is about our 7 favorite characters going through high school together. Most of this story will be through Amy's eyes, but the story line will include everyone. If you want to know who ends up with whom, keep on reading. What fun is a high school story if you know how it'll end before it begins?

Although to be fair, I don't think this story is particularly cryptic. It's pretty obvious where I'm going here. When I saw all these reviews about Penny and Sheldon running off together, I reread my story and thought 'where the heck did i say that?!' And please stop comparing it to the first story I ever wrote. I'm aware the ending there was awkward lol.

* * *

Amy felt more relaxed in her new school than she ever felt anywhere really. Aside from the few wisecracks, she had formed her own social group, including a potential boyfriend, his friends, and her first girlfriend. Penny even walked by and said hello the next day at lunch, making Amy feel less intimidated by the type she most feared.

Friday afternoon in gym class, the girls were instructed to do some weight training in the weight room as part of their rotation. It mainly served to give them a chance to chit chat while pretending to work out.

Penny, Bernadette, and Amy stood around playing with light weight dumbbells while chatting. Penny still seemed a tad apprehensive about being seen socializing with Amy.

Bernadette looked over at Amy. "So, do you want me to pick you up tomorrow or do you just want to meet us at the mall?"

Amy contemplated her options. "A ride would be most appreciated. It would also serve as a chance to demonstrate my new friendship with you to my mother. She's still having a hard time believing you exist."

Penny frowned. "Your mom doesn't think you have friends?"

"Well, I've never had any before. And to be fair, I used to have imaginary friends. Tried to have an imaginary boyfriend once, but he broke up with me."

Penny's eyes got bigger. "Oh my God, that's so sad."

Bernadette put her hand on Amy's shoulder. "It's okay Ames. I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Thank you." Amy replied.

At this point, Penny stopped being prissy and looked genuinely concerned for Amy. "So, are you guys going to the party tomorrow night or what?"

Bernadette nodded. "I'll go for a little while at least. I asked Howie to come with me."

Penny nearly dropped her dumbbell. "So what, are you two going out now?"

"I don't know, he hasn't really said anything one way or the other. I know he likes me, but he's rather shy. We text after school a lot." She explained.

Penny looked at Amy. "What about you, bringing your sorta kinda boyfriend with you too?"

Amy scrunched her eyebrows. "I suppose it would be good for my socialization to attend. But there's no way Sheldon would ever attend a high school party."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine why. Mr. 'I'm too good for everyone' wouldn't be caught dead with the non-nerds." She noticed Amy didn't react to her statement. "I'm sorry Amy, I know you like him and all, and in a dorky way I guess he's kind of cute, but he was just kind of rude to me in lunch yesterday."

Amy sighed. "I know. He's rather opinionated. I'll let him know the invitation is still on the table, but I can't imagine he'd change his mind."

Bernadette just smiled. "Oh this is going to be fun! A couple of girlfriends going shopping tomorrow and then wearing their new clothes to the first party of the year!"

Penny and Amy forced a smile. They were both clearly nervous about the events to unfold the next day.

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Bernadette arrived at Amy's house to pick her up for the mall. Amy's mother was pleasantly surprised to see a nice girl standing by the door. Of course, she also worried that Amy was turning into every other 16 year old by shopping and going out on a Saturday night. But, Amy assured her mother that this was on an experimental basis and she had no intentions of causing harm to herself or her family. Upon leaving, Amy seemed a bit shocked to see that Bernadette drove a white convertible. She was wondering how a 16 year old had such a nice car.

When Bernadette and Amy got to the mall, they immediately met up with Penny and Trisha. Amy had never seen this other girl before, but it wasn't too far off from her expectations. Trisha was a tall, thin brunette with tan skin and beachy waves in her hair. Amy immediately felt more insecure, denoting herself as the "ugly" one of the group. But, she kept her head high and believed that maybe a new wardrobe and makeup was all she needed to fit in with her new "gal pals."

Trisha graced Amy with that same phony smile Penny once gave her. She then whispered into Penny's ear.

"So, is she Bernie's cousin or something?"

Penny shook her head. "No, she's new to the school and Bernadette befriended her and her new dorky friends. Just go with it. Maybe we can convince her to buy some clothes that were made for people under 40 and over 12."

They went inside and stopped at a shoe store. Penny immediately became enamored with a flashy, expensive pair of boots that she could never afford. Amy just looked around and waited for everyone else.

Bernadette approached her. "Hey Amy, what do you think of these ballet flats? Cute, right?"

Penny overheard her and spoke up. "Wouldn't kill ya to get some heels sweetie."

Bernadette just shook her head. "I just ignore the short jokes."

Amy looked at the shoes inquisitively. "There doesn't seem to be much in the way of arch support."

"So? I wear stuff like this all the time and I'm fine."

Amy looked down at her clunky black loafers. "I prefer footwear with functionality. Plus, they need to have enough room to hold my orthodics."

Penny walked over to Amy with a pair of strappy black sandals with a 3 inch heel. "Amy, try these on. You wear a lot of skirts and dresses. I bet they'd look cute with some strappy sandals."

All Amy could do is stare at the stiletto heel. "I don't know, I've never worn heels…"

Trisha just watched the interaction from afar, observing the new member of their shopping group.

Penny pushed the shoes to Amy. "Just try them. The right pair of shoes will make your butt look nicer too." She looked past Amy and spotted something. "Speaking of which, those pink ones over there are speaking to me." Penny ran toward the shoes she saw.

Amy just looked down at the box she was holding. She really wanted Penny to like her, so she decided to give them a try. She was grateful that she was wearing black stockings so she didn't have to worry about contracting anything from the shoes.

She sat down and put them on as Bernadette watched. Amy tried to stand up quickly and nearly fell over. Bernadette rushed to her side to help her stand up.

"There, they're on." Amy said. She walked up and down the aisle of the store awkwardly with her knees slightly bent.

Bernadette smiled. "So? Whatcha think?"

"Well, they certainly won't comply with my orthodics." Amy responded as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She immediately stood up straighter. "But I have to admit, they do look ravishing. Alright, I'll take them!"

"That a girl!" Bernadette exclaimed.

Penny and Trisha made their way over. Penny nodded in approval. "Do I know shoes, or what? They don't even look that bad with your stockings. OOH great idea, we should get her a little black dress for the party. It'll be so chic and adorable!"

Trisha just giggled. She could tell that Amy was becoming Penny's pet project.

At the boutique next door, the girls each found dresses to wear that night. Penny found a pale pink, strapless tube dress. Trisha picked out a red strapless number that hit her about mid-thigh. Bernadette picked out a flared dress with a purple floral print which wasn't terribly far off from most of her other clothes. Then, the three of them worked together to find Amy the perfect dress.

Penny sent Amy into the dressing room with her new shoes. After sifting through 10 different dresses, Amy finally found one she liked. The dress had sleeves that went to her elbow, and the dress itself went to her knees. It was a form fitting black bandage dress. Paired with her black stocking and new shoes, Amy looked like she was ready to go out.

She stepped out of the dressing room and the girls all squealed.

Bernadette clapped her hands. "Oh my Gosh, Amy, you look so pretty!"

Amy started to gain some confidence. "You don't have to tell me. They have mirrors in there." She said with a smirk.

Penny and Trisha laughed at her remark. Trisha leaned forward and whispered to Penny. "Oh lord, you two are creating a monster."

They finished their shopping endeavor at the department store's makeup counter to pick up some essentials. One of the ladies working there put some eye-makeup and lip gloss on Amy in attempt to make a sale. When she was done, Amy just looked in the mirror, surprised at what she saw.

"Whoa. I've never seen myself look like this. I always what I would look like as one of them." She said to herself.

Amy's smoky eye makeup was still quite prevalent through her glasses. It made her feel a bit more mysterious. She knew that this whole makeover ordeal was temporary, but it was a fantasy of hers that she was thrilled to live out.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Leonard's house, the four guys were hanging out watching Battlestar Galactica. Howard looked at his watch and noticed it was approaching 5:00 pm.

"Gentlemen, as much I would love to stay, I have a party to attend this evening." Howard said.

Raj tilted his head. "What party?"

"Bernadette invited me to a high school party. The place is going to be crawling with hot chicks. Apparently everyone's going to be there. Hey, you guys should come too! She said it was open invitation."

Leonard looked scared. "I don't know. Sounds like it'll just be a house full of the people that beat us up on a regular basis."

Howard responded quickly. "Well, with that attitude, sure. No one will bother us if we're hanging out with Bernadette and her friends. Maybe it'll give you a chance to talk to Penny."

Leonard swallowed. "I don't know…"

Raj jumped up. "I'm in."

Leonard smiled a bit. "So, really? Just like that? We can just show up?"

Sheldon remained focused on the television during the conversation.

Howard replied. "Why not?" He looked over at Sheldon. "Hey Sheldon, Amy will be there. You should come with us. I heard she got a bit of a makeover today…"

Sheldon didn't even turn his head. "Amy extended the invitation to me earlier in the week. I, however, have more important things to do on a Saturday night."

Raj folded his arms. "Like what?"

"Saturday night is laundry night."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Sheldon. At least if we show up together, there's less of a chance anything will happen to us. Strength in numbers…"

Sheldon looked at Leonard. "Since when does my presence decrease your chance of getting harmed at a social event? We've been friends for six years, none of which resulted in your safety as a result."

Raj stepped forward. "Sheldon, you know the limited edition #42 Batman comic book you've always wanted?"

This got Sheldon's attention. He looked at Raj inquisitively. "Yes..."

Raj continued. "If you attend this party with us, you can have my copy. It's in mint condition."

Sheldon began to blink oddly as he paused for a moment. "Oh curses, I'll go. But I want the comic book first."

"Done."

"And you're giving me a ride." Sheldon said as he stood up to join the rest of the guys.


	10. Chapter 10

Amy got a ride to the party with Bernadette that evening. She was still getting used to the feel of her new image, but did her best to remain confident. When they pulled up to the house, Amy shuddered at the sound of bass emanating from the two story home.

Amy got out of the car and reached for Bernadette. She grabbed on to her arm as they walked.

"Here we go. My first high school party. My first attempt at socialization with my scholastic peers in a non-academic environment." Amy said.

Bernadette just smiled and shook her head. "Amy, relax. It's just a party. Just hang out, hold a cup in your hand, and talk to people. It's easy. I'll be right next to you. I don't think Howie's here yet anyway."

They went inside and Amy just stood by the doorway, taking it all in. She heard loud, contemporary music blasting throughout the house. The smell of alcohol was a bit overwhelming to her. There were red cups and beer cans throughout the main floor. She noticed some guys playing drinking games in the dining room on her left, and girls socializing on her right. Through the main hallway, she saw a couple making out. Otherwise, people were just talking and holding cups, like Bernadette suggested.

Amy followed Bernadette through to the kitchen, where they found Penny holding a beer, perched up on the kitchen counter.

"Hey ladies, wazzzzzup?" Penny asked.

Amy realized that Penny was a bit intoxicated. As much as she suspected underage drinking, she didn't realize it would be the main theme of the party.

"Hey hottie. Amy and I were just looking around. Have you seen our boys yet?" Bernadette asked.

Penny shook her head. "No, but Andrew's here as a head's up. Oh, and Alex said he was coming, so I've got to make sure I pace myself."

Amy was still looking around the room nervously. It seemed that no one recognized her one way or the other. She wasn't made fun of, but no one really said hi to her either. Bernadette and Penny did their fair share of greetings, leaving Amy feeling self-conscious again.

Before long, Andrew found Bernadette and put his arm around her.

"Hey sweetie, I was hoping you'd show up. Let me get you a drink." He said.

Bernadette wiggled her way out of his grasp. "No thank you, I'm fine. I'm waiting for someone."

"Relax, sweetie. I was just offering." He then turned to Amy and looked confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Andrew looked back at Bernadette. "Who's your cute friend?"

Penny leaned forward and spoke up loudly. "Her name is Amy. She's new this year."

He looked Amy up and down. "Well, nice to meet you miss Amy. You look lovely tonight." Andrew said in an exaggeratedly charming voice.

Amy just smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

Howard walked up to Bernadette at that moment. "Hey, there you are!"

She perked up immediately. "Howie! I'm glad you're here! Come with me, I want to introduce you to some people." Bernadette said as she dragged him away by his arm. Penny was drinking and socializing, leaving Amy standing there alone with Andrew.

He shook his head. "Hey, I'm sorry your friend ditched you. You look like you need to loosen up, let's go get you a drink."

Amy took Bernadette's words to heart and assumed Andrew wasn't worth her time. However, she didn't know what to do, so she remained in place. "No thank you, I don't consume alcoholic beverages. In fact, excessive alcohol consumption prior to the age of 18 has shown to be…"

Andrew cut her off. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. Just take a shot with me. If you don't like it, you don't have to do it again."

Penny overheard the conversation and jumped off the counter. "Here, try mine." She said as she pushed a can in front of Amy.

Amy brought it up to her face and tried to look into the can. "What is it?"

"It's just a beer. Try it. It's bubbly, like soda." Penny said.

Amy smiled. "Ah, this is the peer pressure mother warned me about. Okay." She said as she took a sip from the can. She immediately made a face at the taste. "You really like this stuff?"

Penny laughed. "Yeah well, I grew up with the guys in my family being beer drinkers. If you don't like it, try some of the Hawaiian punch on the table."

Andrew jumped in. "Or you could take that shot with me and chase it with punch."

Amy hesitated. "A shot? As in hard liquor with no buffer to modify its taste? Hardly sounds appealing."

"Oh trust me, it's good stuff. Warms you inside and out…" He said.

"I don't think so…"

"Just one. That's all I'm asking." Andrew continued.

Before Amy could answer, a familiar voice spoke for her.

"She said no!" Sheldon said.

Andrew made a face at the eye level, scrawny kid in front of him. "I wasn't asking you, kid."

"Amy said no, and you continued to ask her. Perhaps misfiring neurons in your hippocampus are preventing the conversion from short-term to long-term memory."

Amy was really surprised to see Sheldon at the party he initially refused to attend. Furthermore, she was blown away by his attempt to defend her.

Andrew got a bit disgusted. "Screw this, you're not worth my time, loser." He leaned over Sheldon's shoulder. "I'll be around if you change your mind miss Amy." He said as he walked away.

Amy just looked up at Sheldon. "What are you doing here? You told me you weren't coming. I thought it was laundry night."

"Yes, well, Rajesh offered me a mint condition comic book I've been yearning for in exchange for my presence at this party." He explained.

Amy nodded. "In any event, thank you for defending me just now. You didn't have to do that."

"Well, let it never be said that Sheldon Lee Cooper ignored the pleas of a damsel in distress."

She smiled. Sheldon leaned forward and crinkled his nose.

"Amy, is that alcohol I smell on your breath?" He asked.

She stepped back. "It's just beer. I tasted a bit of Penny's."

He looked flabbergasted. "You drank alcohol AND shared a beverage? To succumb to teenage hogwash such as underage drinking and forgo basic hygienic practices…"

Amy just rolled her eyes. "Need I remind you that you are at the same party as I am? Which reminds me, do I look any different to you?"

He looked at Amy with a confused expression on his face. "Aside from the mild intoxication, you appear about the same. Why do you ask?"

Amy looked defeated. "I'm not intoxicated, Sheldon. I had a makeover today. I should look different to you."

"Different how?"

"I don't know, prettier?" Amy suggested.

Sheldon still seemed confused. "I can tell you're wearing makeup, and what I'm assuming is a new dress based on the lack of a detergent smell emanating from you. Are you suggesting that these changes are intentionally focused on modifying the way others perceive you?"

She thought about his statement for a second. "I guess."

"Interesting. Although I fail to see what was wrong with your aesthetics prior to this endeavor. But since you went through this effort, I will go along with the social convention and tell you that you look very nice this evening."

Amy smiled at the half-hearted compliment. "Thank you. Did you want something to drink?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I do not drink alcoholic beverages. It is neither legal nor appealing to me whatsoever."

She continued. "Penny said they have Hawaiian punch."

He perked up a bit. "Well, I suppose. This is a party. What's a party without Hawaiian Punch?"

Amy pointed at the table where the punch bowl was. Before he could do anything, Bernadette ran over to Amy and grabbed her arm. "Amy, come into the dining room. Raj is playing Josh in Beer Pong and he's letting me take a shot for him. Come watch!"

And with that comment, the girls disappeared. Sheldon casually found a clean cup and ladled himself some punch from the punch bowl.

Sheldon took a sip and looked back down at the cup. "It really does taste better in a festive environment."

Leonard came through to the kitchen in search of Sheldon. He raised his eyebrows and walked straight up to him. "You're drinking?!"

Sheldon smiled. "Yes, it's punch. I think they may have added some soda to it to brighten it up a bit. It's quite the combination." He said as he took a big gulp. "Would you care for some?"

Leonard thought about warning Sheldon that the punch probably had a lot of alcohol in it, but refrained as a bit of a personal experiment. "No thank you, I'm alright. Have you seen Penny?"

He looked around the kitchen. "She was in here a few minutes ago. Perhaps she's with Bernadette and Amy in the dining room. Let's go look!"

Sheldon followed Leonard into the other room, already loosened up by the spiked punch. Raj was losing to Josh in a beer pong game, which caused Raj to be rather intoxicated.

Raj raised his cup. "This one is for all the ladies. I'm available for sexual experimentation after I kick this guy's sorry butt!"

Howard leaned over to Raj. "You do realize you're severely losing, right?"

"Shhh, dude, I'm trash talking. It's a strategy…"

"Not a winning one, apparently." Howard muttered.

Leonard looked around and saw Penny leaning on the staircase railing, holding a drink. He took a deep breath and decided to march right up to her. She quickly saw Leonard and smiled.

"Hey, it's Lenny right? How are you? Having a good time?" She asked.

"It's Leonard, but you can call me Lenny, or whatever you want… but yeah I'm having a great time."

"Awesome. You should try some of the punch." She said.

"Maybe I will."

"Here, try it!" She said as she pushed her cup under his nose. She was clearly drunk, but Leonard tried his best to treat her like she wasn't. He reluctantly grabbed the cup from her and looked at it. "Sharing drinks… I didn't think we had that kind of relationship. Not that we're in a relationship. I mean, I like relationships but…"

Before he could finish mumbling, a tall, good looking guy came up to Penny.

"Alex! Hey! I'm so glad you could come!" She jumped up and gave him a big hug.

They quickly transitioned to making out on the stairs. Leonard just stood there with her drink for a few seconds. "I'll just hold this for you and go over there…"

Leonard turned around to head back to the dining room and saw Bernadette making out with Howard on a chair in the corner. Amy walked up to Leonard and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, have you seen Sheldon?"

He looked around for a second. "No, he disappeared again. Maybe he stepped out for some fresh air."

Immediately after that comment, they heard Sheldon's voice emanating from the living room.

"Don't stoppppp, believvvvinngggg. Hold on to that feeeeeeeeeeling!"

Amy and Leonard just looked at each other in shock.

They both rushed into the living room to see Sheldon standing on a coffee table with a microphone singing next to a karaoke machine.

"Streeeeeeet liiiight. Peeeeeopleeeee ooohhh ahhhhh!"

Amy and Leonard started laughing.

Leonard looked really perplexed, but amused. "I can't believe I'm watching Sheldon sing."

"What's gotten into him? Amy asked.

"My guess is a lot of alcohol." Leonard said.

"He was drinking?!"

"Yeah, I figured the punch had a lot of liquor in it, but I thought it would be fun not to tell him. Turns out I was right." Leonard explained.

They continued to laugh and dance in place to Sheldon's rendition of Don't Stop Believing.

Bernadette and Howard soon came in the room after hearing Sheldon's wailing. Howard's lips were slightly pink from Bernadette's lip gloss, but Amy spared them the embarrassment of mentioning it.

They stayed a little while and watched Sheldon become the center of attention. A few minutes later, Leonard happened to look around the room and noticed Penny out of the corner of his eye. She was running down the stairs holding her shoes. She burst out the front door of the house, concerning Leonard. He quickly ran toward the door to see if she was okay. He peeked through the door and noticed Penny crying on the front porch.

Leonard quickly opened the door and joined her on the porch swing. "Um, hey, are you okay?"

She didn't look up. "What do you care? Go to hell."

Leonard persisted. "I'm sorry if I keep approaching you awkwardly, but…"

Penny quickly realized it wasn't Alex leaning over her and turned to Leonard. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else. I'll be okay, I just need a minute."

He looked concerned. "Did something happen upstairs? Did that guy hurt you?"

She started crying again. "No, he didn't hurt me. At least not that way." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Like I know we were just going to hook up and all, but Alex didn't tell me he had a girlfriend. I'm not exactly the most moral person ever, but I wouldn't cheat on someone. And then the jerk calls me Marissa while we're messing around. And I'm like 'who the hell is that?' And he's like 'Oh she's my girl at school.' He had this idea that just because I thought he was hot and I was drunk that I'd be okay with being the other woman. And I'm not that kind of girl. I mean, I've been sorta slutty lately, but I'm not a liar. You know what I mean?"

Leonard just looked at her, trying to process everything she just said. "Um, yeah, I think. You did the right thing."

Penny's face softened. "Really? Because he made me feel pretty stupid up there. Said he was doing me a favor and I shouldn't be so concerned with his personal life."

"Well, a guy like that doesn't deserve you."

She smirked. "Yeah well, I should have realized he was only willing to go to a high school party to bang the school slut. God, what's wrong with me?"

Leonard answered her quickly. "Nothing, you're perfect."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Every guy in school would kill to have you. You don't need this Alex guy."

Penny looked at Leonard with soft eyes. "You really think so?"

He looked back at her, and then looked down at the ground. "Yeah, I do."

"I wish more guys were like you. You're really sweet. Thanks for making me feel better."

Penny leaned over and gave Leonard a hug. He froze for a second, then lightly put his arms around her. He became instantly captivated by the smell of her perfume and the way the moonlight reflected off her hair. She released him and smiled. Leonard thought about trying to kiss her, but realized that in her intoxicated state, making a move on her would make him no better than Alex.

Penny put her hand on his knee. "I think I'm going to find my friends now. I'll see you around."

And with a small smile, she got up and went back into the house.

Leonard lingered outside for a minute before walking back into the house. The first thing he heard was Sheldon's voice.

"Heeeyyyyyyy Macarena! Ay!"


	11. Chapter 11

Leonard walked into the living room and saw Sheldon singing on the coffee table, shaking his hips awkwardly while doing so. He just laughed and shook his head. What really made him smile was seeing a group of people he knew in the back of the room. Bernadette was watching Sheldon while holding on to Howard's arm. Raj was drunkenly wearing someone else's hat while cheering Sheldon on. Amy and Penny were chatting while watching the scene unfold in front of them. Leonard took a deep breath and thought to himself that this might be the year of change. Maybe they'd stop being nerds and finally start being regular high school students.

At that moment, a tall drunk guy walked by Leonard and spilled his drink on Leonard's shirt.

"Whoa, watch where you're going little dude." He said as he laughed to himself.

Leonard sighed. "Well, change doesn't happen overnight."

Raj waved Leonard over. "Dude, Sheldon's killing it up there. We should join him!"

And before Leonard got a chance to respond, Raj ran up to the table and starting dancing beside Sheldon. Penny was still a bit tipsy, but coherent enough to comprehend the situation. She grabbed Amy's wrist.

"You should go up there too. He's your boyfriend… boy… friend… thing." She said.

Amy hesitated. "I'm not his girlfriend. And he seems just fine up there without me."

"Oh boo hoo. Come on, I'll go with you." She turned the other way and signaled to Bernadette.

The girls went to the front of the room. Penny and Bernadette instinctively broke out into dance right in front of Sheldon while whistling at him. Amy smirked. She knew what they were trying to do, but she really didn't know how to dance. Not the way they did. And she was sure that Sheldon would have said the same thing if he was sober.

Penny yelled up to Sheldon. "Shake it baby, shake it!"

He looked down at Penny and pointed at her while winking. "Here's looking at you, Hello Kitty."

Amy scrunched her eyebrows. If she was going to befriend Penny, she had to learn to deal with her flirting, even if it was occasionally directed at her potential boyfriend. Although she suspected that unless Sheldon took up drinking, she wouldn't have to worry about him so much.

Bernadette pushed Amy closer to Sheldon. At that moment, the song ended and Raj stole the microphone. While Raj went off on a drunken rendition of "Turn Back Time," Sheldon jumped down and put his arm on Amy's shoulder.

"Are you having fun, Amy? He asked.

She smirked. "I suppose. It's nice to have girlfriends and people to socialize with. And as much as I had no intentions of pursuing carnal relations with Andrew, it felt kind of good to get male attention."

Sheldon shook his head. "I suppose we're not all superior humans, like myself, who don't need all of that riff raff. But in any event, I hope you've realized since then that you deserve better than a mindless Neanderthal. You're a swell gal." His grin was slightly wider than usual from his intoxication.

Amy smiled. "You mean, someone like you?" Her heart started to beat faster.

He thought about her statement for a second. "Yes, I suppose someone like me would be a fitting choice for you, considering our compatibility and comparable intelligence levels." Sheldon then pulled on the collar of his shirt. "Would you mind accompanying me to the front porch?"

"Um, okay." She was hoping he wanted to talk to her privately.

Upon walking outside, Sheldon gently closed the front door behind him. "Excuse me for a minute, Amy." He then proceeded to lean over the gate and vomit on the nearby shrubbery.

Amy just cringed and wondered why Sheldon needed her for this glamorous display. "Are you okay? Should I get you some water?"

"No, I trust nothing in that house. All I drank was Hawaiian Punch and I've become a hot mess." He explained.

Amy rolled her eyes. She went inside and found a closed bottle of water and brought it out for Sheldon. He took a sip and sat down on the porch swing. Amy sat down beside him.

"So, did you really mean what you said before, about us being compatible? Or is that just the alcohol talking."

Sheldon turned to Amy. "I'm sorry, I don't drink alcohol. Although that would explain some of the symptoms I've been experiencing."

She smirked. "The punch had alcohol in it, Sheldon. This isn't exactly a 5th grade birthday party. Every drink in that house, minus the sealed water bottles, probably has alcohol in it."

"Oh. Well gosh golly, at least I didn't contract a tropical disease or alien parasite prior to my nausea."

"Did you mean what you said, Sheldon. About us being compatible."

Sheldon turned his body toward Amy. "Well, yes. The more I get to know you, the more I realize that you and I have a great deal in common. You know, with DNA as remarkable as yours and mine, I bet we could produce elite progeny."

Amy tilted her head. "Wait, what?"

"Think about it, our child would be statistically favored to be…"

"Our child?!"

"I'm talking about many years down the road. Once we've risen to the top of our fields, it would be quite the gift to humanity." Sheldon explained.

Amy was still trying to process if he was being serious. "So, you somehow went from being compatible with me to raising a family with me? I think everyone's right. You are crazy."

"I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested."

"It's just that everyone keeps calling me your girlfriend, and despite the fact that I'm not looking to establish a monogamous relationship this early in our friendship, I just wanted to know if you think it's possible. You know, one day." She said.

He sat up a bit straighter. "So, you're asking me if I'd be willing to make an exception to my self-imposed rule against dating."

"Yes."

Sheldon looked contemplative. "I'll consider it."

Amy nodded. "Thank you."

"But for now, we're maintaining our boy/friend, girl/friend status, correct?"

"Correct."

"Good." Sheldon looked a bit dazed. "I'm sleepy."

"Maybe I should ask Bernadette if she can take us home. Although it might be…" And before Amy could finish her sentence, Sheldon leaned over and collapsed in her lap. She was confused for a second, until she realized that Sheldon just needed to sleep off the alcohol. "Well, when she's ready, we'll go." Amy proceeded to lightly stroke the hair on the back of his head as he laid there, curled up like a child.

* * *

Amy stared off into the distance and did a lot of thinking. She felt like she had known Sheldon her whole life, and upon his request, she would label herself as his girlfriend. Although she was partially worried that she would lose him as a friend if they became significant others. She noticed how quickly high school relationships ended and worried that rushing him would ultimately be the demise of them.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud banging as Bernadette threw open the front door and stormed out. Howard was chasing after her.

"Bernie, it was just a joke. Come on, don't do this." Howard said.

"Just a joke?! You know something mister, you'd be lucky to have a girl like me. But apparently, you don't see it that way!" She yelled.

Sheldon sat up quickly at the sound of the yelling. "Danger, danger!"

Amy put her hand on his mouth. "Shhh, Bernadette and Howard are fighting."

Howard didn't look terribly concerned. "I meant it in a funny way. Take it as a compliment."

Bernadette raised her voice. "A compliment?! How was that a compliment?! A compliment is 'you look nice today' or 'I like your hair,' not 'ask her to come upstairs with us and make this a real party'!"

Amy's mouth dropped open a bit. Sheldon crouched down and put his hands over his ears.

Howard continued to chase Bernadette to her car. "Bernie, don't take it that way. I'm a guy, it's what I do. Don't punish me for keeping my options open."

She stopped and turned toward him. "Well this option is now closed!"

"You can't just leave. Don't you have to drive Amy home?" He asked, hoping she'd stop being angry.

"Fine, then you leave! Maybe I'll just go upstairs and have a party all by myself!"

Howard chuckled. She thought about her statement for a minute before correcting herself. "That's not what I meant, you pig!"

Bernadette promptly turned around and marched back into the house. Howard just stood there shaking his head, clearly confused as to what he did to upset Bernadette.

Amy whispered to Sheldon. "Promise me that if we ever start dating, you won't get that stupid."

Sheldon was still holding his ears. "Is it over? Are they done fighting?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Maybe stupidity should be the least of my worries…"


	12. Chapter 12

Bernadette walked into the living room just in time to notice Leonard walking the opposite way.

"Hey, have you seen Sheldon?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, he's sitting outside with Amy."

Penny then stumbled by and put her elbow on Bernadette's shoulder. "Bernie, we've got a problem. I was going to stay here tonight, but now I'm obviously not going to. Bad enough I was ditched earlier. No need to do the walk of shame when I didn't even get some."

Bernadette tilted her head. "Do you need a ride home?"

"Nooooo, I can't go home like this. I'm a hot mess and I smell like alcohol. My mother will shoot me. Plus, my car is here and thinks I'm sleeping at your house tonight." Penny explained.

"What did you tell her that for?"

"Well what was I going to say? 'Sorry mom, I'm actually going to a wild party and sleeping with some guy you don't know.' Yeah, that wasn't going to work."

Leonard chimed in. "Come to think of it, I told my mom I was staying at Sheldon's house. And his mom will freak if she finds out Sheldon was drinking tonight."

Raj jumped off the coffee table and ran over to Leonard. "Dude, did you hear me up there? I was SICK. I killed it."

"Yeah, that's nice, buddy. Just out of curiosity, where are you sleeping tonight?" Leonard asked.

"Home. Where else would I sleep?" He asked.

"And your parents won't get upset that you're drunk?"

Raj shook his head. "My parents are away for the weekend and I've got the house to myself. Even the butler won't be back till tomorrow afternoon. That reminds me, I think I forgot to check in with Priya."

Bernadette smiled. "Hey, why don't you guys just sleep at Raj's then? It's probably best if you're there anyway, Leonard. To look after him."

Raj raised his cup. "After party at Rajesh's house!"

Penny looked at Leonard. "Would it be totally weird if I came with you guys? I don't want to deal with all these people tomorrow morning. And I don't want my mom finding out where I was."

Leonard blinked oddly, surprised at her request. "Um, I guess. Sure. Raj's parents have a really big house, and if there's no one there and Raj is okay with it…"

Raj was still off in his own world. "Time for a Koothrapart-ay!"

Leonard smirked. "Yeah, I think it's okay."

The four of them went outside. Howard was pacing by the street on his cell phone while Amy and Sheldon stayed on the swing.

Penny saw Sheldon's bottle of water on the ground and picked it up. "Hey, do you care if I take a sip? I don't want to be sick tomorrow morning." And before she got a response, she opened it and put it up to her lips. In unison, the guys yelled at her. "NO!" Sheldon looked horrified.

She looked at them like they were crazy. "What's the problem?"

Leonard looked down. "That's Sheldon's water."

"So."

"He doesn't share…"

"Is it a germaphobe thing?"

Leonard looked at Sheldon. "No, it's a crazy thing."

Sheldon sat up. "Excuse me, I can answer for myself. Penny, while I understand your concern about remaining hydrated, by taking a sip of my water, you have compromised the integrity of the rest of the liquid in the bottle."

Penny looked confused. "I'm sorry, what?"

He rolled his eyes. "By now, the water has been contaminated with your saliva and whatever communicable diseases you may have, rendering it no longer consumable by myself."

Penny made a weird face. "Geez, seems like no one's up for swapping spit with me tonight. There's a change."

Sheldon continued on. "And on that note, did you grow a third eye in the last 30 minutes?"

"Um, no…"

"Oh well, then it seems my vision is…" Before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed into Amy's lap again. She just looked up at everyone and shrugged.

"I think he needs to sleep off the alcohol." Amy said.

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to him about." Leonard said. "I think we should take him to Raj's tonight to sleep it off. I'll just call his mother so she doesn't worry about him."

Amy nodded. "Probably a good idea. Bernadette, are you and Howard ready to head home?"

She glanced in Howard's direction. "I rather leave him here, but I suppose I should drop him off at least. C'mon, let's go."

Amy carefully lifted Sheldon's head and put it down after she stood up. "Take care of him, Leonard." She looked over at Penny. "Thank you for inviting me, Penny. As much as I enjoyed my makeover, it fails in comparison to your illustrious beauty." Amy just waved goodbye and walked toward the street with Bernadette.

Penny took a few seconds to process Amy's comment and just shook her head. "Amy's an interesting one."

Leonard smirked. "Let's get Sheldon over to Raj's car. I'll drive so no one dies on the way there."

Penny and Leonard managed to carry Sheldon to Raj's car and put him in the back seat with Raj. Raj was still talking a mile a minute, but they managed to tune him out.

On the way home, Penny turned to Leonard. "Seriously, thanks for letting me crash with you guys."

Leonard smiled. "It's no problem. I understand."

"Yeah, I just really need to chill out and sober up. Staying there all night would have been a bad idea."

Leonard tried his best to keep calm. In his mind, he was stoked. He just went to a high school party where he wasn't the object of ridicule. He was driving with a girl he thought he'd never talk to. And he got to watch Sheldon get drunk and sing karaoke. In his mind, this was the best night ever. Although he felt bad knowing that his friends and Penny would disagree.

Upon entering Raj's house, Raj and Sheldon crashed on the couch immediately. Penny just looked around for a while, admiring the house. It was a very sizable mansion with Indian décor. The living room itself was impeccable and the room smelled like a really upscale candle store.

"Whoa, no one told me your friend was loaded." Penny said.

Leonard looked around. "Yeah, his dad's a doctor. Do you want something to drink? Maybe some water that hasn't been tainted by Sheldon?"

She laughed. "Yeah sure. I'm just going to sit down in… whatever this room is." Penny pointed to an adjacent room with more sofas in it.

Leonard disappeared into the kitchen and got Penny and glass of water. By the time he returned to her, she was curled up on a loveseat with her eyes closed. He just smiled and set the glass on the side table behind her head and turned off the light. He then sat down on the adjacent couch and laid there reading on his phone before eventually falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Leonard woke up first. He heard car door slam, causing him to get up and wander into the living room. He then saw a car backing out of the driveway from the window as Priya opened the front door.

"Oh, hello Leonard. What a pleasant surprise." She said before she looked around the room. "Can you tell me why my brother and your friend Sheldon are sleeping on the couch?"

He adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, we had a long night and decided to stay here since the house was empty. Where were you that you're getting home early on a Sunday?"

"I was sleeping at my friend Carla's house. Her family is going to church now, so I asked them to drop me off at home on the way. I figured I should get some homework done anyway." Priya replied.

Leonard just smiled and nodded. He didn't really know Priya that well since she was younger than them, but he saw her at the house enough. Hearing her mention homework reminded him that she wasn't a little kid anymore. She looked like a teenager. And she wasn't the worst looking teenage girl either.

"So, everyone else is still sleeping. Wanna sit down in the kitchen with me and have some coffee?" He asked.

"I suppose, but I don't drink coffee." She said.

"Don't like it?"

"I wouldn't know. Mother doesn't let me. Says I'm too young."

"Well, today can be a new day for you then. You'll try some." He said.

Priya smiled. "Okay, why not?"

The two of them sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and talking about school. Penny soon woke up and looked at her phone. "Ugh, seriously? Who's up and talking at 8:30 in the morning?" She sat up and looked around the room, forgetting for a second where she was. She poked her head out of the door and looked down the hall. She heard Leonard's voice followed by a strange female voice. She slowly walked over to the kitchen and saw Leonard laughing with the girl at the table. At that moment, Priya playfully pushed Leonard's shoulder. "Oh Leonard, behave yourself."

Penny just turned around and walked into the living room. She assumed that the girl was related to Raj, but was confused by her flirting with Leonard. Upon sitting on the couch by Sheldon's feet, he jumped up and looked at Penny.

"What's going on? Why am I at the Koothrappali's? And why are you here, Penny?"

She rolled her eyes. "We slept at Raj's house because we were too drunk and messed up to go home."

He sat up and looked around. "I don't feel terribly well."

"Sweetie, it's a hangover. Go get some coffee. You'll feel better."

"I don't drink coffee."

"And based on your post-drunken state, I'm guessing you don't drink alcohol either. First time for everything." Penny said.

Raj moaned and rolled over on the couch. He rubbed his eyes. "Sheldon, is that you? What time is…." He immediately stopped talking when he saw Penny.

She just smirked. "Good morning."

At that moment, Priya and Leonard walked into the room. Priya just looked at Raj and folded her arms. "Good morning Rajesh. Did you guys have a party last night against our parent's wishes?"

He shook his head no. Sheldon decided to speak for him. "Raj is recovering from the party we attended last night. But I assure you, it did not take place in this house."

Raj nodded. Sheldon continued speaking. "Furthermore, he is rendered speechless since there is a non-related female in this room."

Priya then turned her attention to Penny. "Oh, hello. I'm Priya. Raj's sister." She was clearly judging Penny for looking hungover and still wearing her dress from the night before.

Penny looked less than impressed. "Hi, Priya. I'm Penny. Raj was kind enough to let me stay here last night when my other plans fell through."

Priya just nodded politely. "Well, wasn't that nice of him…"

Suddenly, Sheldon's cell phone rang. He looked down at his phone and smiled. "Ah yes, it's Amy Farrah Fowler. Excuse me for a moment." He answered his phone. "Hello?"

Penny ignored Sheldon and picked up her purse from the ground. "If you guys don't mind, I'm going to freshen up a bit. Excuse me."

Amy heard Penny's voice in the background and got confused. "Sheldon, was that Penny I just heard? I thought you were with Raj."

"I am at Raj's house. But yes, Penny is here too. We just woke up." Sheldon said.

Amy tilted her head in confusion. "You… you spent the night with Penny?" She felt a twinge in her stomach.

"She did not want to return home in her inebriated state last evening, so she stayed here. Apparently, I was in a similar predicament as I do not recall choosing to sleep on Raj's couch."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense. Well in any event, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Amy said.

Sheldon smiled. "I've been better, but overall I'm alright. Thank you for your concern."

"You're welcome. Have a good day, Sheldon." She said pragmatically.

"Good day, Amy." He said as he hung up.

Amy just looked down at her cell phone for a minute. She hated the fact that despite her trust, she was still jealous of Sheldon and Penny spending time together.

_Maybe I should text Bernadette and find out where Raj lives…_


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the delay in updating. Grad school is kicking my behind right now. But in any event, enjoy!

* * *

When Penny was out of sight, Raj took his first opportunity to speak.

"What are you doing home so early anyway, Priya?"

"Carla's parents brought me home on their way to church. Which has nothing to do with the fact that you're clearly hungover and had a GIRL sleep over. What do you think mommy and daddy are going to do when they hear about this?" Priya asked.

"They're not going to hear about this because you're going to keep your big mouth shut!"

"Oh right. Rajesh gets drunk as soon as they go out of town and brings some skanky girl home…"

"Hey! You can't talk about her like that. You don't know her." Raj said.

Sheldon raised a finger to speak. "To be fair, Raj didn't bring her home. Leonard did."

Leonard sternly looked at Sheldon. "Excuse me, all I did is offer her a place to stay so she didn't get in trouble with her parents."

Priya folded her arms and looked at Leonard again. "Oh, so she belongs to you…"

Leonard looked befuddled. "Well, no. She doesn't belong to me. I don't have any claim over Penny whatsoever."

Raj smugly looked at Leonard. "Oh well, in that case, can I have her?"

Leonard got defensive. "Hell, no. Back off!"

Priya smirked. "Oh please Raj, you can't even talk to girls. Skanky or not, she's out of your league."

Sheldon started to get irritated. "Children, please! Enough of this bantering. If I wanted to hear arguing, I would have returned home already."

* * *

Amy sat in bed and called Bernadette. She was still half asleep, but answered anyway.

"Huuuhhhhlllooo?" Bernadette said.

"Hi Bernadette, it's Amy."

"Erm, hey Amy. What's up? Is something wrong?" Bernadette asked.

"I was wondering if you happened to have Raj's address." Amy said.

"Uh, yeah. He actually doesn't live too far from you. I think it's 1544 Lamont Drive. It's the biggest house on the block. You can't miss it."

"Great, thank you." Amy replied.

"Why exactly do you need Raj's address? Is everyone over there alright?"

"Apparently Penny spent the night there as well. I called Sheldon to check on him and heard Penny's voice. Considering how much Sheldon dislikes the company of other people, it struck me as odd that he would spend the night with Penny."

Bernadette chuckled. "Are you worried that the two of them slept together or something?"

Amy hesitated. "No. Not actual coitus anyway."

"Relax. Penny does not have her sights on Sheldon. And I can't imagine he would like her over you."

"Yes, I know. He even told me last night that despite his aversion to relationships, he would consider one with me." Amy explained.

"Aw, Amy. That's fantastic!" Bernadette said.

"But for some reason, I still feel a strange sensation in my stomach when Sheldon spends time with Penny."

"Maybe you're just jealous. Penny can be rather intimidating. But she would never steal someone else's boyfriend. That's why she slept at Raj's actually. The guy she thought she was going to hook up with had a girlfriend. As soon as she found out, she refused to do anything with him."

Amy sighed. "But I'm not Sheldon's girlfriend yet. He doesn't even want one."

"He just doesn't know he wants one. And when he does, he'll pick you. You guys make a really cute couple."

"I never wanted a significant other either. I don't know what's happening to me."

"You're growing up and you found someone you actually like. It's okay, I promise." Bernadette got quiet for a few seconds. "Ah crap, that's my mom calling me. I'll talk to you later. And stop worrying about Sheldon and Penny."

Amy smiled. "Thank you for listening. Goodbye Bernadette."

She looked out the window and thought about things. Amy knew that Bernadette was right, but she didn't know how to contain her feelings of jealousy. She really liked Sheldon and didn't want him to like anyone else. But she also didn't want to change him for selfish reasons.

Amy got dressed and went downstairs. Before she had the chance to figure out what to do, her mother greeted her by the kitchen.

"Well, good morning Amy. You got in quite late last night. I sure hope you weren't drinking or smoking some of that new-fangled stuff I heard about on the news. The other day, a girl died at one of these parties." Her mom said.

Amy just rolled her eyes. "No mom. I did not drink alcohol or partake in any drug usage. And neither did my ride, Bernadette."

"Did your 'boyfriend' show up to this party?"

"He's not my boyfriend. And yes, he did go with his friends. They left about the same time I did. I was actually contemplating visiting them this morning, since they are all gathered at Raj's house nearby." Amy explained.

Her mom folded her arms. "Now Amy, you spent all yesterday dilly-dallying with your new friends. I think it's about time you remembered that you're in high school and you need to focus on your studies."

"I will. I would never go to class ill-prepared."

"And if you're so concerned with seeing your 'non-boyfriend,' why don't you tell him to come over here so I can meet him? He can stay for breakfast if he'd like."

Amy thought about it for a minute. "Perhaps. I'll send him a text message."

She took out her phone and texted Sheldon.

_Sheldon, my mother proposed that you come to my house this morning to meet her and eat breakfast with us. Considering your current location, I too thought this would be an acceptable plan. Interested?_

* * *

Penny walked out of the bathroom to see the guys chit chatting with Priya.

"So, I don't suppose Raj can drive me back to the house to get my car." She said.

Raj nodded yes. Penny felt relieved. "Oh good, thank you so much. I need to go home and shower and then run to Starbucks and get me a frappachino ASAP."

Priya spoke up. "You can always have some of the coffee we made this morning."

Penny gave Priya a fake smile. "Yeah, no thanks. I need some of the good stuff this morning." She noticed everyone looking at her as she was speaking and felt a little self-conscious. "Anyone else up for overpriced coffee?"

Sheldon stood up. "Which Starbucks are you going to? The one by the mall or the one next to the Red Lobster?"

Penny scrunched her eyebrows. "I don't know. I guess the one by the mall. It's closer to my house."

Sheldon smiled. "Oh good, then you can drop me off at the train store while you get your coffee."

Penny looked confused. "I don't think any of those kind of stores are open yet. It's still really early on a Sunday."

He tilted his head. "Perhaps. Alright, then I suppose I can get a hot cocoa while you enjoy your coffee. If the train store isn't open by then, the comic book store should be open. We can stop at both. And maybe we could stop and get one of those funny pretzels in the mall!"

At this point, Penny was slightly offended at Sheldon's assertiveness. "You know I'm going home first, right?"

Sheldon heard his phone vibrate and checked the incoming text message from Amy. "Ah, Amy has invited me over for breakfast. Raj, I'm going to need my emergency bag from your room so I can shower and get dressed. Then Penny can pick me up from Amy's and we'll run our errands. But I warn you, I need to be home by 2:00pm to do a menial homework assignment." He proceeded to text Amy his acceptance of her proposal.

Penny was rendered speechless. She leaned over to Leonard. "Is he serious?"

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, he makes each of us keep an emergency bag at our houses in-case something happens while he's with us and he needs a change of clothes, toothbrush, zombie protection kit…"

Penny shook her head. "No! I mean is he serious about making me drive him around today?"

He smirked. "Yep. Welcome to the club."

* * *

Amy looked down at her phone. "Wow. Sheldon said he would come over in about 30 minutes."

Her mother tilted her head. "Is that so surprising? He's not one of those bad boys that doesn't like parents, right?"

Amy chuckled. "Hardly. He dislikes everyone equally."

She got a look for that comment. Amy continued. "I already told you. He's a senior. He's quite brilliant. He likes science fiction and comic books. And he has no interest in engaging in coitus."

Amy looked down at her phone again. Sheldon sent her a follow-up text.

_FYI, today is French toast day._


	14. Chapter 14

Despite Amy's better judgment, she told her mom to make French toast for breakfast. Promptly on time, Sheldon arrived.

_:Knock Knock Knock: Amy._

_:Knock Knock Knock: Amy._

_:Knock Knock Knock: Amy._

Amy answered the door and was surprised to see him all cleaned up.

"Good morning Amy. I trust you had a pleasant night's sleep." He said.

Amy raised one eyebrow. "For the most part. I'm quite surprised to see that you're neither disheveled nor recovering from your accidental inebriation."

Sheldon smugly grinned. "Yes well, I took a hot shower and changed into my emergency outfit this morning at Raj's house. When I woke up, Penny filled me in on the events of last evening."

Her heart sunk. "You… you don't remember anything from the party?"

"I wouldn't say I don't remember anything. Think of it as a partially completed puzzle. I'm merely missing enough pieces to distort the whole picture."

Amy looked down. "Great."

"I trust you made French toast this morning?"

"My mother's in the kitchen cooking right now. I informed her of your request. Come with me, she wants to meet you." Amy said as she gestured to Sheldon to have him follow her. They walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Sheldon stood in the doorway and noticed the short, fair-haired woman flipping French toast on the stove. She turned around as soon as she heard them enter the room.

"Well, you must be Sheldon. Nice to meet you." She said.

He forced a smile. "Good morning. Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Fowler."

She continued speaking. "Amy said that you liked French toast. Hope you're hungry!"

Sheldon nodded. "Interesting. A friendly sentiment in this country, cruel taunt in the Sudan."

Mrs. Fowler looked confused, but tried not to be judgmental. Sheldon looked around the room and scanned the breakfast table. "Do you have maple syrup?"

Amy responded. "Yes, I'll get it for you." She took out a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth syrup and noticed Sheldon cringing. "What's wrong Sheldon?"

He walked over to Amy. "That's not real maple syrup. That's Mrs. Butterworth's syrup."

"What's the difference?"

Sheldon shook his head in haughty derision. "Most 'maple' syrups are made from corn syrup with little to no actual maple syrup as an ingredient. Unless the label reads 'pure maple syrup,' you're just eating artificially enhanced sweetener."

Amy tightened her mouth and folded her arms. "Don't start with me, Sheldon. Just eat it."

"Alright. But it's going to make me question the authenticity of everything else served this morning."

Mrs. Fowler set a plate of French toast on the table and looked over at Sheldon. "What do you want to drink? Coffee, tea, orange juice..?'

Sheldon responded quickly. "Orange juice. Coffee's out of the question. I promised my mother I wouldn't start doing drugs."

Amy rolled her eyes, but her mother just smiled. "Well, that's nice. I'm glad to see Amy's with good company."

Breakfast went relatively well. Sheldon kept his sarcasm to a minimal level. And when he did say something out of line, Amy would kick him under the table before her mother noticed. While Mrs. Fowler was cleaning up, Amy noticed Sheldon fiddling with his phone.

"So, will you be needing a ride back to your house?" She asked.

He smiled. "No thank you. Penny's picking me up in a little while to go to Starbucks."

Amy scrunched her eyebrows. "Wait, you're hanging out with Penny again? You were the one that gave me a hard time when I started talking to her and now you two are having sleepovers and spending Sundays together? And you JUST said you don't drink coffee. Why do you want to go to Starbucks."

Sheldon shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous Amy. Penny is going over to the Starbucks by the mall. I only plan to accompany her until the train store is open."

She still felt sad. "Yeah, but still. You could have asked me for a ride."

"Oh don't be silly. Why would I do that if she's already driving there?"

Amy could tell that Sheldon wasn't pursuing Penny. But she still didn't understand his sudden interest in being her friend. Especially since he was the first to admit they had nothing in common.

* * *

Her fears subsided when Penny showed up. She was in sweatpants and looking rather disheveled with her hair pulled back. Amy was surprised to see Penny in such an unkempt state, but figured it was a result of the party the night before.

_Ah who am I kidding? She still looks radiant._

Amy opened the front door and motioned for Penny to come in. She slowly got out of her car and walked through the front door. Amy smiled really wide and walked toward the kitchen to get her mother.

_A boy in my house and the most popular girl in school at my front door. I wish I could tell last year me that is DOES get better!_

"Mom, come out here and meet my new girlfriend, Penny!" Amy yelled.

Penny smirked. "This is so not what I had in mind when I said I wanted to expand my social circle this year…"

Sheldon stepped closer to Penny. "Do we have time to stop by the comic book store?"

Penny shook her head. "Yeah sure, what the heck. It's not like I have homework to do today. Well, not homework I'm actually going to do."

Amy walked back in with her mother. Mrs. Fowler tentatively smiled. "Hello."

Penny smiled back. "Hi, I'm Penny. I go to school with Amy and Sheldon."

"It's very nice to meet you, Penny. I'm glad to see Amy has so many friends this year."

Amy just stood there smiling really wide.

Penny stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before looking to Sheldon. "Alright, come on. I need my coffee fix like yesterday. Bye guys!" She grabbed Sheldon's wrist to drag him out. He immediately yanked it back, annoyed mostly that Penny touched him.

When the car drove away, Mrs. Fowler lingered around for a bit. "Well, Sheldon seems… nice."

Amy tilted her head. "But…."

"But nothing."

"Mom, you said that strangely. What's wrong with Sheldon? Aside from the obvious quirks and sense of entitlement." Amy asked.

Mrs. Fowler just smiled. "Nothing at all dear. Your friends seem perfectly nice. And it's good that they get along with each other." She turned to walk away.

Amy walked in front of her mom. "Wait. This is about Penny and Sheldon, isn't it?"

"I didn't say a word."

"MOM!"

"I just want you to be careful. This is still a new school and I don't want you getting hurt."

Amy took a step backwards. "You don't think they genuinely like me, do you?"

Mrs. Fowler sighed. "I just met your new friends, Amy. I don't know them very well. I just don't want you falling for any of those teenage pranks like last year."

Amy was starting to get upset. "They never even spoke before this year. I'm the only friend they have in common. This is not a setup! This is not the Academy! And Sheldon and Penny are NOT Jeremy and Megan!"

She covered her face and ran up to her room. Her mother watched her run and felt heartbroken for her daughter. "I sure hope you're right, Amy."

* * *

At Starbucks, Sheldon sat at a table with Penny as she drank a 20 oz coffee. She was starting to feel better, but started to get annoyed with Sheldon's bantering.

"You know, the first Starbucks actually started out selling whole roasted coffee beans, without offering brewed coffee beverages for sale." Sheldon explained.

"Mmhmm." Penny mumbled.

"Did you know that coffee has other applications other than consumption? For instance, if you sprinkle ground coffee around your garden, it will prevent snails and slugs from munching on your crops."

"Mmhmm."

"Here's another interesting factoid. In 2001, Brazil produced a coffee scented postage stamp to promote its coffee."

She glanced at him sideways with an annoyed expression. "You don't say…" She said bitterly.

"Yes, the scent supposedly lasted 3-5 years."

"Fascinating."

Sheldon smiled. "I know."

"No, I meant what you find interesting." Penny explained.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Well, what conversation topic interests you? I'm typically not one for small talk, but I'm trying to adhere to the social convention."

She gave him her best fake smile. "I don't need the small talk, sweetie."

"Alright." Sheldon said. He checked his phone to see the time. "The train store opens right about now. I'll be heading over there. So when you're finished here, you'll know where to find me." He stood up and pushed his chair in.

Sheldon left Starbucks and walked toward the train store on the other side of the parking lot. On his way, he noticed some other teenagers gathered around the back of a car. He ignored them and kept walking until he heard them laughing. As he turned around, he got hit in the face with a paper mug filled with lukewarm coffee, which promptly opened upon hitting him. He jumped as it startled him and let out a loud yelp, increasing the amount of laughter emanating from the scene. Sheldon just stood there for a second, unsure of what to do next.

One of the guys in the group yelled out. "Whoops, sorry. It slipped."

Sheldon pretended to go along with their act. "That's alright. I suppose it could happen to anyone." He was secretly scared, but tried to act cool.

He opened his emergency bag and reached in for a towel when his Nintendo DS fell out. He completely about it until it hit the ground. Sheldon went to put it away when one of the other guys started to walk toward him. "What's a matter, we broke your little Gameboy?"

Sheldon shook his head. "No, it's a Nintendo DS."

The coffee cup culprit stepped forward. "Oh nice, I've always wanted one of those." He started to walk toward Sheldon.

He panicked and stepped backwards. "Well, how convenient. We're at the mall. You can just march right in there and buy yourself one."

The guy laughed. "No, I don't think so."

Sheldon got the hint and took off running the way he came. The two guys ran after him, running slightly faster than him.

At that moment, Penny walked out of Starbucks and turned her head toward the commotion. She saw Sheldon running in her direction with two guys chasing him.

He caught up to Penny right as the guys were about to grab the bag from his arm. Sheldon ran around to the back of Penny and crouched down behind her. "Penny! They're trying to steal my Nintendo DS! Make them stop!"

Penny folded her arms. "Are you freaking kidding me right now?" The two guys stopped and looked at Penny. One of them recognized her. "Oh, hey Penny. I didn't know he was like your brother or something."

She started tapping her foot. "He's not my brother. He's just my friend. Well, a friend of a friend, but whatever. But what the hell, Scott? Now you're robbing people in parking lots? Real classy."

Scott and his friend were both well-built guys, about 6' in height. He had blonde short hair while his friend had wavy brown hair. Scott folded his arms to match Penny. "Hey, I was just messing with him. He was the one that told me he was carrying around expensive games."

Sheldon stood up. "It's not a game, it's a console."

Penny looked over her shoulder. "I'm starting to understand why you get beaten up so much."

Scott continued. "Look, it's no big deal. I won't mess with him again."

"You bet your ass you won't mess with him again. Now go away. You and your lover boy over here."

Sheldon whispered to Penny. "Ooh, suggesting that he is in a homosexual relationship with his buddy to make him question his sexuality. Good one, Penny."

She ignored that comment and looked back at the guys, waiting for them to leave.

Scott just snickered. "Funny. This is my friend from baseball. He goes to the academy."

The coffee culprit waved at Penny. "Sup? I'm Jeremy."


	15. Chapter 15

When Penny finally got rid of Scott and Jeremy, she turned her attention back to Sheldon.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?" She looked at his clothes. "When did you spill your cocoa all over your shirt?"

Sheldon stood up. "It's not cocoa. It's coffee. That Jeremy fellow decided he was done with his beverage and I apparently looked like a trash receptacle."

Penny's mouth gaped. "Oh my gosh, that's horrible! I'm so sorry! Some people are really mean like that. But don't worry, now that they think we're friends, they won't bother you."

He considered her comment. "Are you implying that the company I keep is directly related to the way others treat me?"

Sheldon caught her off guard. "Um, well yeah. That's kinda how high school works. Everyone's in some sort of a clique and a lot of the cliques don't like each other. You know, like you have your jocks, your cool kids, band kids, theater geeks, nerds…"

"And you classify me as…?" He asked.

Penny felt self-conscious about the comment she was about to make. "Well, no offense, but you're really smart. And you're into all that comic book stuff. So you're sort of textbook nerd."

Sheldon brushed it off. "No offense taken. It's not the first time I've been called a nerd and it won't be the last. Frankly, I think the term is underrated. I don't know why someone should be offended by being classified as intelligent while subsequently passionate about science fiction."

She thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I guess. Not exactly an argument that's going to get you picked on less. Want me to bring you home so you don't have to walk around covered in coffee all day?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Again, I'm really sorry."

Sheldon started to walk to Penny's car. "Why? You didn't do it. If anything, you helped the situation. So thank you."

She walked beside him. "Aw, you're welcome, sweetie. You know, talking to you guys the last few days has made me realize how mean we really are."

"We?" He asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I've been the girl sitting at the car making fun of ner…. people. And at the time it was hysterical…" Penny laughed to herself. "But seriously. It wasn't nice.'

Sheldon became intrigued. "You've watched someone throw a disposable coffee cup before?"

"Well, no. Not that per say. But, check this out. One time, we took this girl that got good grades all the time and was really annoying and blindfolded her, tied her up and left her in a cornfield overnight." Penny chuckled.

Sheldon was less than amused. "In what way is that comical?"

"It was funny. Everyone laughed." Penny explained.

"Did she laugh?"

"Uh, probably. It's hard to say. She kind of had an ear full of corn in her mouth."

Sheldon looked appalled. "Explain to me how that is comparable to getting pelted with a coffee cup?"

"I'm just saying. Messing with nerds… gah! People. I meant people. It's not very nice. And I shouldn't do that crap anymore."

"Why are you friends with Amy then?" Sheldon asked.

Penny got into the car with Sheldon. "Excuse me?"

"Amy is smart. And she is more like me than you. Why are you friends with Amy?"

"Um, well, I don't know that we're good friends or anything. But she's Bernadette's new friend, so that sorta makes her my friend too."

Sheldon buckled his seatbelt. "Thank you for driving me home."

"Of course. No big deal." She responded.

"And Penny?"

"Yeah."

"Don't hurt Amy."

Penny smiled and turned to Sheldon. "I won't. I promise."

* * *

The next day at school, Amy marched right up to Sheldon in the hallway.

"Good morning, Sheldon."

"Good morning, Amy."

"I wanted to thank you again for joining us for breakfast Sunday morning despite your post-inebriated state." She said.

Sheldon smiled. "Don't mention it. Perhaps next time my mother orders from the gourmet food store online, I'll ask her to add a bottle of pure maple syrup for you."

Amy nodded. "Thank you, I think. Anyway, did you have a good time with Penny yesterday?"

He shook his head. "No. I never even made it to the train store. Some mean people threw a partially filled coffee cup at me and then chased after me in a futile attempt to steal my Nintendo DS."

"Oh no! That's horrible."

"Indeed. Luckily Penny knew one of them and they agreed to never bother me again."

"Well, I guess it's good to have her around then." Amy said.

"Yes. And if I could get her to talk about something more interesting than shoes, we might actually be able to have an intelligent conversation. She's quite versed in the social dynamics of high school."

Amy gave Sheldon a look. "Well, yeah. Obviously. She's the most popular girl in our school. For obvious reasons of course. With flawless features and a beckoning pelvis…"

Sheldon ignored Amy's rambling. "Either way, if you insist on befriending her, I think she could actually add some value to our social group."

Amy smiled. "Noted."

* * *

That afternoon, Penny and Bernadette sat at their old table, leaving the guys by themselves with Amy.

Howard sighed. "Looks like Bernadette is still mad at me."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Well, you pretty much called her a stepping stone."

"When did I do that?!"

"You implied that since you've obtained her as a suitable girlfriend, the next obvious step is two women. Therefore implying that you are not fully satisfied with your relationship with her and will constantly want more."

Leonard and Raj stopped eating and looked at Howard. They clearly did not know the reasoning behind their fight. Leonard laughed. "You told her you wanted a threesome? You haven't even had a twosome yet."

Sheldon jumped in. "He's certainly well-versed in 'one-somes,' if you will."

Leonard and Raj continued to laugh. Howard looked annoyed. "Look, all I said was it would be fun. Excuse me for shooting high."

Leonard shook his head. "Yeah well, now you chased her AND Penny away."

Howard raised an eyebrow. "Oh so you think you still have a shot with Penny?"

"Maybe. She's really nice, and she really just wants a nice guy, I think."

Amy took a mental note of the conversation before excusing herself to go to her locker.

Sheldon looked up. "Strangely enough, I have to agree with Leonard."

"Thank you."

"About her being nice. Not about you engaging in coitus with her." Sheldon clarified.

Leonard looked offended. "Hey! Who said anything about coitus? I'm just talking about a date or something. Howard's the one talking about coitus."

Raj got annoyed. "Can everyone please stop saying 'coitus?'"

"That would be coitus interruptus." Howard joked.

* * *

That afternoon in biology club, Bernadette and Amy sat together to catch up.

"So, can you believe Sheldon and Penny are actually getting along?" Bernadette asked.

Amy shook her head. "Not really. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she stood up to those bullies in the parking lot for him. It was really nice of her."

"See! I told you! I've been trying to pull her away from those mean kids for a while. Being popular is fun and all, but not when you have to be downright cruel."

"So, are you going to make up with Howard?" Amy asked.

"I don't know. He seems so sweet, and then he goes off saying something jerky at the party. I'm guessing he's just not ready for a girlfriend. So I think I'll wait for him to realize he did something wrong." Bernadette said.

"I understand."

"Well, what about you and Sheldon? You two looked awfully cozy at the party. And he did say he would make an exception for you." She smiled at Amy.

Amy just sighed. "I think he's even less ready for a girlfriend than Howard. But we'll see. I'll give him time. It's too soon to tell."

Bernadette agreed. "Yep. All things get better with time."

* * *

Meanwhile, Penny was sitting on the back of Trisha's car with her, talking about the party.

Trisha shook her head. "Oh man, I can't believe Alex is such a tool. He's not hot enough to be that much of an ass."

Penny tilted her head. "Eh, he kind of is. But still, I don't need that crap."

"So, Bernie told me you were hanging out with Amy's boyfriend yesterday. What was that about?"

"Oh right, well I spent the night at this kid Raj's house. You know, the indian guy at the nerd table I was at last week. By the way, he's totally loaded. It's a huge freakin' house."

Trisha smirked. "Good to know."

"Anyway, so I announced that I was going to Starbucks because I was crazy hung-over, and Sheldon sorta invited himself to tag along so he could go to the comic book store or something. Then Scott Carson and his friend pelted Sheldon with a Starbucks cup in the parking lot and tried to steal his stuff."

"Oh that's cute."

Penny chuckled. "Yeah I know. So I went out there and I think Scott almost died when he realized Sheldon was there with me."

Trisha laughed. "Oh my god, you should have told him it was your boyfriend or something to watch his eyes pop out of his head."

Penny laughed. "Nah, he thought he was my brother first to be honest. But yeah, I felt kind of bad though. Sheldon didn't even do anything. He was just walking across the parking lot."

Trisha looked up. "Speak of the devil…"

Scott walked up to the car. "Hey, Penny. How's it going?"

"Oh fine. Just sitting here telling Trish how much of a douche you were yesterday."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright alright, I didn't know you knew him."

"Mmhmm." Trisha laughed at Penny's attitude toward him.

Scott continued. "Look, let me make it up to you. What are you doing Friday night?"

Penny folded her arms. "I don't know. Maybe I'll be getting' my geek on again. Who knows?"

He laughed. "Let me take you to the movies to make up for it."

Trisha put her fist up to her mouth to stifle a laugh as she watched Penny act coyly.

"Hmm, a movie you say?"

"Your choice. It's the least I can do."

Penny knew he was full of crap with his excessive politeness, but she wasn't about to turn down a free movie. And he did kind of owe her. "Yeah sure, what the heck. But if you ever mess with my friends again, remember I can hogtie and castrate you in 60 seconds. I used to do Junior Rodeo."

Scott cringed. "Ouch, Penny. I'll remember that, I promise. See you later, cowgirl. And bye Trish."

When he walked away, Trisha burst out laughing. "Oh my god, that was epically hilarious. I'm surprised you said yes."

Penny smirked. "Eh, it's just one movie. Plus, I feel like I need to give a lot of people a second chance lately."


	16. Chapter 16

A few days later, Howard convinced Bernadette to forgive him for being so forward and she accepted his apology. By Thursday, she had rejoined the lunch table.

The six of them were eating and chatting about school when Amy noticed Leonard's eyes fixated on Penny.

"Would you like to me ask Penny to join us, Leonard?" She asked.

Leonard snapped out of his daze. "What? No, it's fine. I was just looking to see what she was doing."

Bernadette chuckled. "FYI, she has no idea you're interested in her whatsoever. You rarely talk to her. Except for being nice to her at the party, you haven't done a thing."

Leonard sat up straight. "I will. I'm just taking my time. Trying to get a feel for things."

She continued. "If I were you, I wouldn't waste that much time. She's already going to the movies with someone tomorrow."

He jumped up. "Say whaaaat? I thought she had sworn off dating for a while."

Amy smirked. "Oh please. With a radiant smile and sun-kissed locks, that girl can't beat them off with a stick. It doesn't surprise me that she's back on the dating wagon so soon."

Bernadette nodded. "I know. But it probably won't turn into anything serious. She's just going out with him because he wanted to make up for bullying Sheldon."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to Bernadette. Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "She going to the movies with the Neanderthal from the parking lot?!"

Bernadette sighed. "I know. I don't trust him either. I think Penny's still rebounding or something."

Amy looked confused. "Maybe I should say something to her."

"No, don't! I've learned as her best friend to stay out of her dating life. If you start telling her what to do, she'll just start lying about it. Even though we keep warning her that she's turning into the school slut..."

* * *

Across the cafeteria, Penny was sitting with her friends when Scott pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Hey Penny, are you cool with horror movies? I really want to see that new one that's coming out Saturday. I know I said Friday but there's no point in seeing something lame when we can just wait a day." He said.

Penny smiled. "Oh totally, I love a good scary movie."

"Great! I'll buy them online so we don't have to waste time when we get there." Scott caught Bernadette in the corner of his eye. "So, that guy you were with last week is hanging out with Bernie?"

Penny glanced over to their table. "Oh yeah, she likes the short guy with the bowl cut. They're sorta dating or something. And Sheldon's sorta kinda with the other girl, Amy."

Scott nodded. "So if they're your new friends, how come you're not over there?" Scott asked.

"I am. Sometimes. Just not today. I have lots of friends you know."

"Yeah right. I can't imagine you just setting up shop at the geek table."

Penny got huffy. "Fine, I'll go over there right now! Goodbye!" She stood up and marched over to their table.

* * *

Leonard quickly averted his glance. "Oh boy, Penny's walking over. I hope she didn't see me…"

Bernadette turned her head and smiled. Amy did the same.

Penny grabbed a chair between Leonard and Sheldon and sat down. "Hey guys, what's shakin'?"

The guys didn't know what to say. Amy leaned toward Penny. "It's always great to have you, Penny. We were just talking about you."

She tilted her head. "Really? What about me?"

Sheldon turned right to Penny. "You plan to accompany Scott to the movies in light of the fact that he attacked me in the parking lot and attempted to pilfer my Nintendo DS!"

Her expression softened. "Oh. Right. Look, he said he's sorry for the whole thing. He didn't know you were with me."

Howard took Sheldon's side. "Still, he's kind of a bully."

Sheldon looked down. "They again, so is Penny. Perhaps the match-up is fitting."

Penny looked horrified. "Hey! I defended you to him on Sunday! I told you, I'm not like that anymore."

Leonard leaned forward. "Okay, enough. Sheldon, Penny did a nice thing for you on Sunday. Don't give her a hard time about it."

Penny looked at Leonard. "Thank you."

He continued. "Besides, she's not exactly going to bully any of us around anymore."

"Right! Hey wait, what do you mean by 'anymore?'"

Leonard hesitated. "You and your friends kind of pushed my arms into my own coat in 8th grade and tied the sleeves together."

Penny tilted her head. "We did?"

"Yeah, and then my shoelaces. Which wouldn't have been so bad if you didn't cover my face with my hat and roll me down the hill into a puddle when you were done."

She thought about the story for a minute. "Oh my gosh, that was you?!"

Leonard lowered his head. "Yeah… You were probably under a lot of peer pressure or something. I know how it is in middle school."

Penny looked ashamed. "Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry Leonard. I didn't really think about those kind of things back then. Can you ever forgive me?"

Sheldon smirked. "Sure, take him to the movies. That seems to be the going rate for forgiveness these days."

Leonard flashed Sheldon a dirty look. Penny continued. "If I'm that horrible, why are you guys so nice to me? I don't deserve it."

Leonard lifted his head. "Yes you do. You're not that person anymore. People change. Sometimes you have to give people the benefit of the doubt."

Penny agreed. "Definitely. That's part of the reason I agreed to go out with Scott. I'm hoping he stops being a jerk for good now."

Bernadette leaned over to Amy. "And some people never change at all…"

* * *

Friday came about all too soon. When Amy found Sheldon in the hallway that morning, he was already standing with the guys.

Sheldon started protesting. "But we've always played video games together on Friday nights!"

Howard folded his arms. "Well excuse me, but Bernadette and I made plans."

"Well then who is going to be our #4? We always play in teams of two." Sheldon stated.

Raj spoke up without noticing Amy walking up behind Sheldon. "Well actually, it'll just you and Leonard. Bernadette said she's got a friend for me."

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "No way. I'm not babysitting Sheldon all night while he eats too much Chinese food."

Sheldon looked down at Leonard. "Babysit? Excuse me, but which one of us threw a temper tantrum last time they lost?"

"It wasn't a temper tantrum! My glasses fogged up and you took advantage of me!" Leonard yelled.

Amy tapped Sheldon on the shoulder. "Hello Sheldon. There seems to be a kerfuffle between the group. May I assist in any manner?"

He smiled. "Good morning, Amy. It seems that Howard and Raj prefer to go gallivanting with women tonight than adhere to the rules set forth by vintage video game night."

Leonard smirked. "Shocker."

Amy tilted her head. "Interesting. And the issue being that you need four members of your social group present to play said video games?"

Sheldon nodded. "Correct."

"Well, what about me?" Amy asked.

"What about you?"

"I'm not much for video games, but I will be available this evening if you wish for me to accompany you to Leonard's house."

Sheldon shook his head. "That makes three of us. We're still short one person."

Amy thought for a second. "Leonard, do you have someone you could invite over? Maybe a particular lady friend to round out the evening?"

Leonard smiled. "Ah, like our own double date. I like that idea."

Sheldon looked confused. "Date? Who said anything about a date? This is vintage video game night."

Leonard ignored him. "I don't exactly know a girl that would want to play video games with us though."

Amy thought for a minute. "Why don't you ask Penny?"

Sheldon jumped in again. "Penny's going to the movies. Traitor that she is."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Even so, I'm sure Penny has better things to do than sit in my basement and watch me play video games. I think I know someone that might be interested though. Maybe I'll ask her later today."

Amy nodded. "Great. Then it's settled. We'll all meet at Leonard's house tonight at 8pm. Would you like a ride, Sheldon?"

Sheldon just flipped his head back and forth between Amy to Leonard. "What on earth just happened?"

* * *

That afternoon in gym, the three girls sat on the bleachers, avoiding their recreational activities.

Bernadette leaned toward Penny. "I think it's really neat that Trisha agreed to go out with me, Howard and Raj tonight."

Penny raised her eyebrows. "How exactly is he going to talk to her? He won't even speak in front of me."

"Howard said he's going to put a little something in his drink before we go."

Penny looked shocked. "Oh my gosh, that's horrible. Funny, but horrible."

Bernadette continued. "I hope Trisha doesn't get weirded out by him. I'm still surprised she said yes."

Penny laughed. "Maybe because I told her he was loaded."

Amy and Bernadette both turned to Penny, waiting for her to clarify her seriousness.

Amy spoke up. "Do you really think she'd be that shallow?"

Penny shrugged. "No idea. I mean he's not bad looking. And he was fun that time he was wasted at the party. So who knows? Maybe she'll actually like him. Granted he doesn't wear another sweater vest. Anyway, any big plans tonight Amy?"

"Well, I'm accompanying Sheldon to Leonard's house this evening for some sort of video game event. It means a lot to Sheldon, so I decided I should attend in an attempt to get to know him better."

Penny nodded. "Could be fun. I play video games with my brother all the time. Kid thinks he's the king of Halo, but I can kick him around the room any day."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Well if you weren't busy this evening, I'd invite you to join us."

"Who said I was busy?"

"Aren't you going to the movies with that guy?"

Penny shook her head. "Nah, he wants to go tomorrow instead so we can catch the new horror flick."

Amy reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. "Let me text Leonard and see if the offer still stands."

_"Did you find anyone for tonight? -Amy"_

Bernadette nudged Penny. "Oooh, spending your nights with the nerdy boys. Welcome to the dark side, Penny."

She chuckled. "Yeah well, Sheldon and Leonard seem like nice enough guys."

"Yeah, Leonard's quite a catch, isn't he?" Bernadette asked in an insinuating manner.

Penny smiled. "Yeah, I guess. He's kinda cute in a lovable dorky way. And he was really nice to me after that Alex crap at the party. He's really nice to me in general, especially considering…"

Bernadette cut her off. "I think you should ask him on a date. It would totally make his day."

Penny thought about it. "You think?"

"Totally. I can tell by how he looks at you."

She smiled. "Maybe. I'll think about it. It would be a nice change from some of these losers I keep picking up."

Amy's face dropped as she read her phone. "Um, I'm really sorry but apparently Leonard found a date for tonight."

Penny just looked at Amy. "Oh."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leonard stood with his future date in front of the school. He put his phone back in his pocket. "So, I'll see you tonight then." He said.

Priya smiled back at him. "Can't wait."


	17. Chapter 17

The three girls left school that afternoon and walked to the parking lot where Penny and Bernadette had their cars. Penny was awfully quiet.

Bernadette picked up on it quickly. "Penny, are you alright?"

Penny didn't look up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine."

Amy decided to state the obvious. "Are you upset that my previous invitation was withdrawn when Leonard found himself a date?"

This time, Penny lifted her head. "Nah, it's fine. I'm sure she's very nice. Whoever she is. I'm not exactly interested in Leonard. I mean, I just met the guy. He doesn't even talk to me all that often. I'm sure whatever girl he found is perfectly fine. Lucky even. He's not a jerk like most guys."

Bernadette and Amy exchanged glances. Penny rambled on. "Besides, I've got enough on my plate. I really don't need a boyfriend to worry about."

"Who said anything about a boyfriend?" Bernadette asked coyly.

"Yeah, Leonard doesn't seem like the kind of guy that's looking for a one night stand. You should have heard the way he was talking to me at the party. I think he thinks I was too drunk to remember." Penny explained.

Amy's interest was piqued. "What did he say?"

"He was going on about how I didn't deserve all that crap from Alex, and that I was perfect and any guy would kill to have me…"

"Wow." Amy and Bernadette spoke in unison.

"What?"

Amy looked up. "Well, if Sheldon ever spoke to me like that, I'd latch onto him and never let him go."

"Yeah well, guys say that kind of thing all the time. He was probably just trying to make me feel better."

Bernadette smiled. "Or maybe he meant it."

* * *

That night, Amy picked up Sheldon and arrived at Leonard's house a few minutes early. She noticed the house was exceptionally clean and organized, with academic achievements posted throughout in the form of certificates and trophies.

"I'm glad you could make it, Amy." Leonard said. "Want me to give you the 25-cent tour?"

"You charge for a tour of your home? Sounds a bit presumptuous." Amy said.

Leonard shook his head. "It's an expression. You know… never mind."

Sheldon walked straight through the house to the home office. Amy just stared as he walked away. "Where's he going?"

"Oh, he's probably just looking for my mom. They get along really well… I think she once called him the son she never had…" Leonard trailed off.

Amy looked off to the side. "Oh."

"Yeah… You'll understand what I mean if you meet her."

Before Leonard could finish his statement, Sheldon came walking back into the living room with Mrs. Hofstadter.

Sheldon was beaming. "As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your latest publication."

"I expected you would." She replied. "Oh, hello there young lady. I'm Beverly Hofstadter."

Amy nodded and shook her hand. "Good evening, I'm Amy Farrah Fowler. I'm a friend of Sheldon's."

"Fascinating. Leonard, did you offer your guests a beverage?" She asked her son.

"Um, no not yet. They just got here." Leonard replied sheepishly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Amy spoke for her and Sheldon. "We're fine, thank you."

Beverly nodded. "Well, perhaps you should direct your friends downstairs so you don't leave your lady friend waiting alone."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Oh, your date is here?"

"Yeah, she got here a little while ago. Let's go."

Sheldon turned back to Beverly. "As always, it's been a pleasure to see you. And before I forget, I wanted to say I think you did a splendid job selecting your summer home. The listing you sent me provided quite the extensive virtual tour. I envy the remote location you've chosen."

Leonard quickly turned around. "Summer home? What? We have another house?"

Beverly shook her head. "Yes. Your father and I purchased a summer home on the east coast. Please don't interrupt like that." She turned back to Sheldon. "Thank you Sheldon. I knew you'd appreciate it."

"Why did Sheldon get a say in this and I didn't?!" Leonard yelled.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "For the last time, Leonard, your mother and I share common interests and values. A second opinion from me is far more useful to her than one from yourself."

Amy leaned over to Leonard. "I see what you meant before."

Beverly turned her attention to Amy. "Sheldon tells me you're quite interested in the field of neurobiology. Perhaps you can help me conduct an experiment in the future pertaining to behavioral studies and the complexity of psychological impulses from a biological standpoint."

Amy smiled. "Sounds wonderful."

Leonard threw his arms up in an exasperated manner and headed for the basement.

Sheldon and Beverly just watched him and shook and their heads .Sheldon leaned toward her. "It baffles me how a woman of your intellectual superiority could produce a son with such rude tendencies."

Beverly smiled a bit, "I'm sure Amy could explain it to you once she reaches that point in her studies. I'm going back to work. Good night."

* * *

Leonard sat down next to Priya on the sofa in the basement. "Sorry about that."

Priya smiled. "Where are your friends?"

"Oh, they're on their way down. Sheldon just stopped to talk to my mom about stuff."

"Don't you find it weird that they're friends? It feels very Mrs. Robinson to me." Priya said, smirking.

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Priya rolled her eyes. "It's from a movie. I'll have to show you sometime."

Sheldon and Amy walked down the stairs. Sheldon did a double take upon seeing Priya on the couch.

"Oh, Priya, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Leonard invited me over. I thought you told him." Priya said to Leonard.

Amy stepped toward them. "You must be Leonard's date. I'm Amy Farrah Fowler."

Priya smiled. "Nice to meet you Amy. I'm Priya."

Sheldon ran up to Amy's side. "First of all, stop with all this date nonsense. Let's not ruin vintage video game night. Now, did you invite Priya on the grounds that you expect her playing style to be akin to Rajesh's? Because I can tell you from experience, it does not work that way."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "No, Sheldon. I just invited her because I wanted to invite her. That's it."

Amy looked confused. "Wait, you're Raj's sister?"

Priya started to feel awkward as well. "Yep. That's me."

Amy then turned to Leonard. "Raj is okay with you dating his sister?"

"Hey, I don't need Raj's permission to date someone." Priya snapped back.

Sheldon raised his voice. "People, please! What is this obsession with dating? Can we please just enjoy a nice evening?"

As he proceeded to set up the video gaming system to his personal specifications, Amy and Priya made some small talk. After her talk with Penny this afternoon, Amy was eager to figure out if Priya was going to become Leonard's romantic interest.

* * *

After a night of video games, most of which Amy and Priya didn't understand and quickly lost interest in, Sheldon ended the saga to spare himself the agony of playing with inadequate gamers. While he was distracted with a one player game, Amy continued to speak with Leonard and Priya.

Priya laughed. "I think Rajesh stopped talking to women he wasn't related to when he hit puberty."

Leonard smiled. "I don't know, I think it's been longer than a week..."

Amy chuckled along. Priya's phone suddenly rang. She grabbed it out of her purse and looked frantic. "Ah, it's my mom. I can't let her know I'm here, so I'm just going to take this upstairs." She said as she ran off.

Amy looked at Leonard. "So, are you interested in a relationship with Priya?"

Leonard smiled. "I don't know. I mean, she was always just Raj's kid sister. And now she's in high school, and she's really cute. I think there might be something going on here."

"What about Penny?"

Leonard scowled. "What about Penny?"

"I thought you were interested in pursuing a relationship with Penny." Amy clarified.

Leonard laughed derisively. "I told you, I'm not going to waste my time pursuing Penny. She's always dating these guys I can't compete with. I mean literately, they're twice my size!"

Amy tilted her head. "You seemed somewhat more confident last week."

"Yeah well, no sooner did I think we made a connection when she started dating another one of those guys. I'm just not her type. Even if she did like me for some unknown reason, she'd never go out with me. Her friends would just laugh."

Amy shook her head. "Self-loathing isn't very becoming of you, Leonard. Perhaps if you were more confident, she'd have more interest in you."

Leonard stood up. "Nah, forget it. Besides, I think Priya likes me. I'm going to see where it goes first."

Amy nodded and took out her cell phone. Her first thought was to text Bernadette.

_Hey, I'm at Leonard's house. Raj's sister is here. Leonard appears to be interested in pursuing a relationship with her. –Amy_

* * *

Bernadette and Trisha were sitting at a booth with Howard and Raj at a local pizza place. When Bernadette got Amy's text message, she grabbed Howard and pulled him aside.

"Gee, Bernie. What was that for? If you wanted some alone time…" Howard said.

Bernadette shook her head. "No silly. I just got a text from Amy. Apparently Leonard's hanging out with Priya right now."

"But I thought Leonard found a date?"

"He did! He's on a date with Priya!" Bernadette shouted.

Raj quickly jerked his head. "Who's dating Priya?! What's happening to my sister?!"

They made their way back to the table. Bernadette awkwardly smiled. "Did I say Priya? I meant Penny. You know how she is… always running around dating different men…"

Raj didn't buy it. "No, you definitely said Priya. And you never talk about my sister. What's going on? Is she seeing some white boy behind my parent's backs?!"

Howard shook it off. "Look, Raj, it's no big deal. Apparently Priya is at Leonard's house with Sheldon and Amy. That's all. I'm sure everything's fine."

Raj stood up. "No! How is that fine? Why is she hanging out with Leonard?!"

Trisha just lowered her head in shame. "Raj, can you please sit down and be quiet?"

He stepped out of the booth and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to call Leonard!" He ran out of the restaurant with his cell phone in hand.

Bernadette and Howard just looked at each other. He folded his arms. "Good job telling Raj by the way."

She snapped back. "Oh like you would have kept it a secret anyway."

Trisha smirked. "Sounds like your friend Amy is a bit of a rat."

"She's not a rat. Not intentionally, anyway." She looked at her phone and saw a second text message.

_Perhaps we should stop encouraging Penny to date him._

Bernadette looked up. "Oh. Apparently this was Amy's way of telling me not to push Penny into asking Leonard out."

Trisha laughed. "Penny?! No way. You may have gotten me to come out, which I'll be honest, I'm not entirely interested in dating a crazed big brother that only talks to girls when he's drinking or whatever. But Penny rarely dates guys her own age. And when she does, they're taller than her and really freaking hot."

Bernadette looked up and saw Raj freaking out on his cell phone. "Uh oh…"

* * *

Leonard took his phone call upstairs, leaving Amy and Sheldon alone in the basement. Sheldon was entirely focused on the television while viciously pressing buttons on the controller.

Amy just looked at him and smiled. "It's cute when you're really focused on something you enjoy."

Sheldon didn't break concentration. She continued to pry for his attention. "Oh Sheldon…"

He hit the pause button and turned to Amy. "Is there a reason you're interrupting me?"

"Well, we're alone in Leonard's basement. And this was supposed to be a double date…"

Sheldon shook his head. "No, this was supposed to be vintage video game night. Your idea of encouraging Leonard to invite a female does not qualify this evening as a date night."

Amy looked defeated. "Okay, let's try it this way. If this was, in fact, a date night, and I was your date, what would we do differently?"

He thought about her question for a moment. "Well, I suppose we'd follow whatever terms were set forth prior to the date. Perhaps we'd draw up a document identifying the terms and conditions of our relationship ahead of time."

She didn't look surprised, but decided to ask anyway. "A document?"

"A relationship agreement, if you will."

"So, you wouldn't go on a date with a girl unless you were in a committed relationship with her?"

Sheldon pondered his answer for a second. "No. And I can't imagine I'd want to."

Amy smiled. "Good to know."


	18. Chapter 18

Leonard came running down the stairs with Priya closely behind him.

"Amy! You told Bernadette that Priya was here?!" He yelled.

Amy just froze for a second, confused by his anger. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

Leonard started to get red. "Yes! I just got an angry phone call from Raj telling me to stay away from his sister!"

Amy's phone vibrated. She looked down and saw a text message from Bernadette.

_Raj may have accidently overheard me tell Howie what you just told me._

She didn't know what to feel at that moment. She had no idea that Priya's presence was supposed to be kept secret. Furthermore, it seemed like Bernadette understood the unspoken confidentiality, regardless of her accidental slip up.

Sheldon stopped what he was doing and looked at Leonard. Amy gulped. "So you're angry because I should have known not to tell anyone about Priya?"

Leonard threw his hands up. "At least not anyone that was going to run to Raj about it right away!"

Sheldon stepped in. "To be fair Leonard, in regards to secret keeping, it does not work on an ex post facto basis. If you wanted us to keep a secret from Rajesh, you should have informed us ahead of time. Then we could have decided whether or not we wanted to accept the covenant of secret keeping."

Amy nodded. "Thank you, Sheldon."

Priya looked upset. "I guess it's not that big of a deal. Raj won't tell my parents since I know about his drinking. But still, it's not nice to rat me out to my big brother like that. I didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to hang out with Leonard."

Amy started to get annoyed. "I didn't tell Rajesh anything. I merely pointed out to Bernadette that Priya was your date this evening."

Leonard folded his arms. "Oh right, like she wasn't going to tell Howard immediately. Who would tell Raj."

Sheldon shook his head. "This is why I don't partake in gossip."

Leonard grabbed Priya's hand. "Let's go. I don't wait to stay here anymore."

Priya tilted her head. "Uh, Leonard, this is your house."

He stood up a bit taller. "You're right. I can stay. You two should go."

Sheldon stood up from the couch. "Fine. Let's go Amy."

Amy was starting to get pretty angry at Leonard. She didn't feel she did anything wrong. But part of her wondered if she made a rookie mistake due to her inexperience with friends.

Amy and Sheldon went outside and sat in Amy's car.

He looked more annoyed than she did. "I apologize for Leonard's behavior. He tends to be rude when there's a pending relationship with a female on the line. Although this is the closest I've ever seen him get."

Amy put her forehead on the steering wheel and started to sniffle. Sheldon looked stunned. "Amy, are you crying?"

She uttered through a stifled cry. "No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

"Why are you crying Amy? I assure you, Leonard is no reason to cry."

She lifted her head and had tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know. I've never had friends before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Apparently there are unspoken rules about which members of the social group can be privy to certain information."

Sheldon nodded. "Yes well, these rules are due to the recent addition of females to our social group."

Amy looked straight at him. "So what are you saying? This is all my fault?"

"In a way, yes."

"How so?"

"Well, it was your idea for Leonard to invite a female over for vintage video game night. You should have realized the subset of females that Leonard has both met and not repulsed is quite limited."

Amy turned the key in the ignition and bolted out of the driveway.

Sheldon grabbed the handle above his door. "Dear Lord, are you trying to get us killed?!"

"I want you out of my car, and I don't want to sit here and fight with you. So I will drive you home as quickly as possible and we will terminate our friendship immediately thereafter."

He looked horrified. "Wait, what did I do?"

"If it's all my fault for messing up your little circle of friends, then I'll just stay out of it."

Amy never felt so upset before. She spend her whole life analyzing situations pragmatically. And for the life of her, she didn't understand why she had such a strong desire to get away from Sheldon. Kids at her last school treated her much worse, but she still didn't get emotional or moody easily.

When they arrived at Sheldon's house, Amy gripped the wheel tightly. "Get out."

"Now Amy, I think you're being a bit rash. Perhaps it's your time of the month. Or maybe you're hungry. Would you care to come in for a beverage or snack?"

"GET OUT!"

He jumped out of the car and barely closed the door behind him when Amy sped off. Sheldon slowly walked to his front door. "Definitely the wrong time of the month."

Amy drove home and went straight to her room. She spared her mother the details to avoid a lecture about how she didn't need friends or a boyfriend to be happy. Amy just laid on her bed and hugged her pillow.

_Maybe I am better off alone._

* * *

That night, Penny stayed at home and watched a movie in her room. Periodically, she checked Facebook on her phone out of boredom. The guys all friended her that week, so she could see what they were up to. The first thing she noticed was Leonard's status:

_What started out as a good night ended in disaster. Thanks a lot everyone. – Feeling Frustrated_

Penny felt bad. "Wow, I guess his date didn't go well. Maybe I should say something to him. He was pretty nice to me when I got ditched."

She started to write him a private message, _"Hey Leonard, hope everything's okay. If you need to talk, I'm here. And don't let others bring you down. You'll find someone that deserves you one day."_

Penny smiled. "Yea, that should cheer him up." She submitted the message and went back to her movie.

* * *

Leonard sat in his basement with Priya. After he calmed down, he started to feel bad. "Maybe I was too hard on Amy. She probably didn't think there was anything to hide."

Priya nodded. "Well, she could have asked. But even so, there really is nothing to hide. We're just two people hanging out, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. Just two people. Nothing to hide."

"Dating is too formal of a word anyway."

Leonard smiled. "I agree. And if Raj asks, we're just…"

And before he could finish his sentence, Priya leaned forward and chastely kissed him on the lips. Leonard froze for a second before putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back slightly.

Priya looked a bit confused and rejected. "What's wrong, Leonard?"

The corner of his mouth curled up a bit. "Is this okay? Can we do… this?"

She just laughed. "Why not? No one is here."

He smiled. "Okay, cool." And he kissed her right back.

* * *

The next day, Amy woke up and started to do her homework. Her mother poked her head in her room.

"Amy, are you okay dear?"

"Yes mother, I am fine."

"Have any plans for this weekend?"

Amy looked emotionless. "Just homework, reading, and practicing harp."

Her mother was pleased to hear that Amy was spending a quiet weekend at home, but also concerned about her recent friendships. "How was Leonard's house last night?"

"Fine." Amy said bluntly. Her mother just left, realizing that Amy wasn't about to talk.

Amy just sighed and looked at a picture on her phone of her new friends at the big party last week. She half smiled.

_I hope I didn't turn them against each other for good. I still can't believe Sheldon is blaming me for this whole thing! How was I to know that Leonard was interested in Raj's sister? But I have to say 'shame on me' for engaging in gossip. Or for that matter, initiating gossip._

Suddenly her phone vibrated with a text message notification. She opened it and didn't recognize the number.

_Hey, how did everything go at Leonard's house? He seemed pretty upset on facebook. ~Penny_

Amy's jaw dropped a bit. "Penny's texting me? COOL!"

She started to write, but stopped abruptly when she remembered that texting was the very thing that got her in trouble last night. So, she decided to be vague in her response.

_Hi Penny! Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on the events of last evening. -Amy_

Quickly, Penny responded.

_Um, ok. Was his date that horrible? ~Penny_

Amy contemplated her response.

_No, she was a delight up until she and Leonard got angry at me for disclosing information about their relationship. Perhaps Leonard could provide further details, if you're interested. -Amy_

Amy put her phone down, hoping that she didn't cross any lines this time by texting.

* * *

Penny sat on her bed with her phone, staring at the latest text from Amy.

"A relationship? Their relationship?! Wow, that escalated quickly. Good for Leonard. I think. Maybe that's why he didn't answer me."

Penny felt a little off about the situation.

_Why is this bothering me? I wasn't even interested in going out with him. I mean, I thought about it since Bernadette and Amy told me he liked me and all, but I hadn't decided what I was going to do yet. And if he liked me so much, why does he have a girlfriend all of a sudden? I knew I was right. He's just a nice guy. They really had me reading in to it too much. Besides, I've got a date tonight. Now, what to wear…_


	19. Chapter 19

Hello everyone! Thanks for the great reviews! This is a primarily Penny chapter, but it is an important one nonetheless. Enjoy!

* * *

When Leonard woke up, he checked his email and various social networking sites, per usual. Eventually, he came across Penny's message from the night before.

_Hey Leonard, hope everything's okay. If you need to talk, I'm here. And don't let others bring you down. You'll find someone that deserves you one day._

He blinked oddly, unsure that he was reading the message correctly. His heart started to pound in his chest a bit. "Penny's worried about me? Find someone that deserves me? What? Did I miss something?"

His first thought was that Penny somehow got wind of the situation with him and Amy from Bernadette. But even so, he didn't understand why she would reference 'finding someone' in her sympathy.

_Does she think this is somehow Priya's fault and that I'm not going to go out with her now? Unless she was hinting that SHE is the 'someone' that deserves me. No, that can't be right. I'm reading into this too much. I should just thank her for her concern._

Leonard fiddled with his phone for a minute. He normally called Howard about these kind of situations, but he had no idea who wanted to hear from him at all today.

_Surely Howard would side with Raj, right?_

* * *

Penny tried to contact Bernadette, but she wasn't answering her phone and she wasn't online. She received a message from Leonard thanking her for her concern, but he didn't seem overly interested in talking to her about his date.

_Hey Penny, thanks for caring, but I'm okay. I just got a little angry at my friends, but we'll be fine. You know how it is._

She looked at her message for a minute. "Okay… guess he really doesn't want to talk about it."

Penny spent the rest of the day lounging around and killing time until her date.

When nightfall arrived, Penny got dressed up in her typical date night attire, including a tight black skirt and low cut top. She wasn't sure how interested she was in Scott, but she knew that she had a tendency to get caught up in the moment, and if she decided she wanted to hook up with him, she at least wanted to look good.

While finishing up her makeup, she heard a car horn coming from the driveway. She quickly made her way downstairs and grabbed her purse from the kitchen table before scurrying out the door. She sauntered to the car until she got closer to the passenger door. The first thing she noticed was that the backseat was far from empty.

Penny opened the passenger door and sat down. She looked over at Scott in the driver's seat. "Hey Scott…" She glanced at the two people in the backseat. "Um, hi, I'm Penny. Who are you?"

The girl sitting behind Scott flashed Penny a phony smile. One she knew all too well. "Hey, I'm Megan. And you met my boyfriend Jeremy, right?"

Penny averted her attention to the guy sitting behind her. "Right, Jeremy. Hi. Nice to see you again."

_A double date? Really? And with this guy?_

Scott smiled. "Yeah, we were all hanging out and they wanted to come with. Hope you don't mind."

Penny flashed Megan the same fake smile she received from her. "Oh not at all. It's cool."

Megan leaned forward. "By the way, I freaking love that skirt. So cute."

Penny smiled back and quickly noticed that Megan wearing an even shorter skirt.

_Skank._

"Aw, thanks. Yours is cute too." She replied.

Penny stayed quiet for the rest of the car ride. She normally didn't care about these group outings, but she felt uneasy around Scott's friends. In a way, she was a bit relieved that there was no pressure for this date to go anywhere since it was no longer exclusive.

When they arrived at the theater, she noticed Scott was quick to pay for her. She turned down his offer for food and drinks and proceeded to follow him into the theater. They sat in the back row, not to Penny's surprise. The first thing that turned Penny off was seeing Megan slip out a tiny bottle of rum and empty it into her soda. She passed it back and forth to Jeremy and Scott before offering it to Penny. "Thirsty, Penny?"

Penny made a face. "I'm okay right now, thanks."

Scott put his arm around Penny. "Lighten up, Penny. It's Saturday night. Just relax and have a good time. Maybe we'll ditch these losers later and go to the park or something. Just you and me."

Megan reached over and smacked Scott across the chest. "Heard that."

Penny smiled. "We'll see."

She kept quiet most of the night, which was facilitated by the movie theater environment. Occasionally Scott would brush up against her, put his arm around her, or touch her leg. She was just as flirty as the next girl, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to hook up with another one of these guys. In the back of her mind, she started to believe that Bernadette had the right idea.

When the lights came back on at the end, Penny stood up and tugged on her skirt to keep it from being too short. Jeremy and Megan seemed a bit tipsy, but Scott seemed about the same. Which pleased her, since he was driving. He grabbed her hand in attempt to hold hands while walking out, but she pulled it back.

Scott looked at Penny strangely. "What's a matter? Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm…" And as Penny took the first step down the stairs in the theater, she noticed a familiar face several rows ahead of them. Leonard was holding hands with Priya. "Seriously? He's hooking up with his friend's sister?!"

Scott got confused. "Wait what? Who?"

She snapped back into focus. "Oh, nothing, sorry. Just some people from school. You don't know them." But she continued to watch as Leonard lightly kissed Priya on the cheek as they walked out of the theater. Penny felt a tightening in her stomach. She remembered the way Priya looked at her when then met. Granted, Penny was hungover and a hot mess, but she hated the judgement that emanated from Priya's eyes.

_Oh great. Leonard's dating some stupid freshman that thinks she's better than me. So much for me hanging out with them now._

Penny quickly reached over and grabbed Scott's hand. "Sorry about that. Maybe I just need a drink."

She quickly got back into character as they got into the car. Penny took a shot of alcohol from Megan's stash and started to loosen up. "Hey Scott, why don't we all go to the park together and chill. It'll be fun. Plus, I didn't really get to know your friends in the movie theater."

Megan leaned forward. "Works for me, I've got nothing better to do."

Penny felt her phone vibrate and proceeded to check the incoming text message.

_Salutations Penny. Hope your date is going well! See you at school Monday! ~Amy_

She smiled and shook her head before responding. Scott chuckled. "Texting other guys? That hurts, Penny."

Penny put her phone back in her purse. "Yeah, that was my friend, Amy. Just checking up on me."

Jeremy muttered something under his breath that made Megan crack up. He spoke when Penny seemed confused. "I'm sorry, we knew this super freak named Amy that went to our school last year. The name just reminded me of stuff, that's all."

Penny didn't make the connection right away. "What happened?"

Megan laughed. "Oh my gosh, so this really nerdy chick with no friends that dressed in her mother's hand-me-downs or something went to our school. Which you know, maybe she was poor or something, I have no idea. But what made it worse was how annoying she was. She clearly thought she was better than us. And she always spoke like a freaking thesaurus. Anyway, Jeremy started flirting with her one day to be funny and actually got her phone number. So we thought about prank calling her or signing her up for phone sex or something, but then he had this genius idea to pretend he really liked her. And she was stupid enough to not know we were going out. So like, I jumped in on it and started talking to her like we were girlfriends. Eventually, Jeremy convinced her to send him half naked pictures or something and we sent them out to everyone over Snapchat. How were we to know that someone would hack Snapchat and find the pictures? Then on top of that, I found out that she was like having these lunch rendezvous with the janitor or something. So that ended up on the website too. Bottom line, she had to delete her facebook account and drop out of school. Or maybe she went somewhere else, no idea. "

Penny looked disgusted. "That's horrible, how do you know she didn't go kill herself or something?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. She loved herself too much for that."

Penny looked back at her phone and started to think.

_They're not talking about Amy Farrah Fowler, are they?_

When they got to the park, the four of them hung out in a dark wooded area. Penny started to feel tipsy which made her relax.

At one point, Jeremy and Megan wandered off, leaving Scott with Penny.

Scott playfully cozied up to Penny before putting his arm around her and trying to kiss her. She hesitated, making him a bit worried again. "Now what's wrong?"

"That story your friends told. Did you know about that?"

"Sort of. They told me about it somewhat, but I wasn't involved or anything. Why?"

Penny sighed. "I don't know. Lately I've been thinking about all the crappy things I've done to people and I'm starting to feel like they really don't deserve our crap. They're actually better people than we are. They're so smart and polite and forgiving. At least some of them are."

Scott smiled. "Hey, I think it's really cool that you want to be a better person, and I totally respect that. But I can't exactly change what my friends do. Besides, sometimes it's all in fun."

"And sometimes we really hurt people."

"I get that. All I know is, if I had a girl like you, I wouldn't waste my time making fun of other people. You're really cool, Penny. I think being around you would make me a better person." He said.

With that statement, he proceeded to kiss Penny again. This time, she let him. And when the alcohol hit her harder, she remembered seeing Leonard with Priya at the movies.

Penny grabbed Scott's hand and led him back to his car. She jumped into the backseat and pulled him with her. He was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and follow her lead.

* * *

After her date with Leonard, Priya managed to sneak back into her house unnoticed. Leonard got home and went to sleep that night feeling content, but subsequently worried about the repercussion of his actions.

_Monday is going to be really interesting._


	20. Chapter 20

Monday morning, Amy walked through the halls tentatively. She knew she'd spot her so-called friends, but wasn't sure how they would react if she tried to speak to them.

But of course, Sheldon approached Amy like nothing changed. "Good morning Amy, I trust you're feeling better this morning?"

Amy gave him a dirty look. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, as you recall Saturday night, you were in a fit of rage for no apparently reason whatsoever."

She just rolled her eyes and walked away. He quickly caught up with her. "Amy! If I said something wrong, let me know. I'm not good at these things."

"What things?"

"Understanding human emotion. Especially female emotions. Granted, we've become good friends, I still have no basis as to understanding what triggers your anger."

Amy stopped. "Fine. You upset me because you said this whole fight with your friends was my fault."

Sheldon wrinked his forehead. "No, I merely responded to your hypothesis with the notion that your suggesting that Leonard find himself a date prompted him to ask Priya to attend vintage video game night. Considering you did not know Rajesh had a sister or that Leonard's female social circle was quite limited, you couldn't possibly have seen this coming. However, my point was that this whole thing could have been avoided if you didn't insist on labeling boy-girl outings as dates."

She finally smiled. "Well, that's kind of how it works in high school. When two people like each other and they spend a lot of time together, just the two of them, people say they're 'dating.'"

Sheldon stopped to think about her statement. "Interesting. I've spent plenty of time alone with Leonard and no one has ever speculated such."

Amy just rolled her eyes. "That's different. Leonard is your friend. There's no romantic interest there. At least I hope there isn't."

"Fair enough. So are you insinuating that my relationship with you is different from that of my friends?"

She started to get flushed. "Um, well, what do you think?"

"I think you and I are on the road to becoming great friends." He said with conviction.

Amy leaned toward him. "And you don't think of me any differently than your other friends?"

Sheldon thought about it. "I suppose I do. But I still find this notion of dating to be completely unnecessary."

"Of course you do…"

They walked down the hall and saw Leonard alone by his locker, playing with his cell phone. Raj, Bernadette and Howard were a few feet away, but clearly avoiding him for the time being. Amy and Sheldon just looked at each other and made the non-verbal agreement to avoid getting in the middle right before class.

* * *

Right before lunch, Penny saw Bernadette heading toward the cafeteria and pulled her by her arm. "Hey, I need to talk to you for a second."

Bernadette motioned to Howard that she'd catch up with him later. "Sure, Penny. What's wrong?"

"Where were you all weekend? I needed to talk to you!" She said loudly.

"I was with Howie. I'm sorry, by the time I saw the missed call, it was late. And I knew you were out and about. Speaking of which, how was your date?"

Penny put her back up against the wall. "Ugh, you don't want to know."

"That bad?"

"Let's just say, I wasn't really in the right frame of mind and I thought hooking up with him in the back of his car at the park was a good idea."

Bernadette folded her arms. "You didn't…"

"No. Well, I didn't do him. But almost, you know… oh don't make me say it." Penny said sheepishly.

Bernadette just smirked. "And that's why you're upset?"

"To be honest, Scott was being really nice. I mean, he brought along his two other friends, who were actually dating each other. But other than that, he wasn't too bad. I think he wants to go out with me, like for real. But I don't know. I got really upset with his friends."

"Why?"

Penny lowered her voice. "Well, you know how Amy used to go to the academy? I think his friends are the reason she left. They apparently bullied her and lied to her and did horrible things to her."

Bernadette's jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh, that's horrible."

"And the worst part of it, they still think it's hysterical. I could not believe it. I mean, that's the kind of crap that makes people kill themselves. I swear, I am never doing that stuff again."

"Well good for you, Penny. But what are you going to do about Scott?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I really don't know.

* * *

When they walked into the cafeteria, they saw Howard and Raj sitting at their usual table. Leonard had just walked in, but he was avoiding eye contact at all cost.

Bernadette walked up to Raj. "Oh come on, so he likes your sister. You have to talk to him eventually. This is getting stupid."

Raj, of course, didn't respond. He tried to whisper in Howard's ear but he just swat him away. "Stop that! I have to agree with Bernadette. We should probably just hear him out."

Penny put her stuff down on a chair. "Hang on, I'll go convince him to come over here." She walked away toward Leonard.

Howard just looked at Bernadette. "Since when is Penny so chummy with Leonard?"

"No idea. I think she's just having a change of heart these days."

* * *

Leonard did a double take when Penny approached him. "Um, hi Penny."

"Hey, go talk to your friends. They miss you and they want to know why you're sneaking around with Priya."

He was taken aback. "How do you know about that?"

"I hear things."

"Well, I don't know what to say to Raj. He's just going to freak out."

Penny folded her arms. "You're going to go over and apologize to your friends RIGHT now! Okay?"

Leonard got intimidated. "Okay fine." She dragged him by his arm back to the table.

When he sat down, Raj just gave him a dirty look. Leonard spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Priya. It's just, when I was at your house last week, we started talking and I realized that she's not just a little kid anymore. She's really nice, and smart, and pretty..."

Raj whispered to Howard. Howard rolled his eyes. "Raj said he doesn't want you screwing around with his kid sister."

"I'm not messing around! I like her. And she likes me. And we just plan on taking it slow and seeing if there's anything more. I would never hurt her."

Penny felt a tug at her heartstrings. They way Leonard spoke made her smile. She rarely heard guys speak like that.

Before anyone could respond, Sheldon and Amy approached the table. Penny smiled at Amy. "Hey there, I missed you guys this weekend."

Amy was surprised. "You did?"

"Totally. We need to hang out more often." Penny replied.

Amy was a bit taken back by Penny's enthusiasm, but didn't want to turn her down. "Alright. Then we shall."

Sheldon looked at Leonard. "I believe you owe Amy an apology, Leonard."

Amy quickly turned to Sheldon. She was surprised he stood up for her again.

Leonard let his shoulders sink. "I'm sorry, Amy. I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that. I just didn't want Raj to hear about everything before I had a chance to tell him."

Amy nodded. "Apology accepted. But for future reference, please let me know who is privy to confidential information like such before you disclose it."

"Will do."

And so, the seven of them ate lunch. Penny was happy, and started to feel like this was a positive change she could make in her life. When Leonard stood up to go get a drink from the soda machine, Penny quickly jumped up and went with him. Again Leonard was surprised.

Penny elbowed Leonard. "So, everything is all hunky-dory now with your friends again. That's good."

Leonard smirked. "Yeah, I hope so. But I still don't know if I should keep seeing Priya."

"Well, do you like her?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Then you owe it to yourself to see what happens. Just don't let it turn into a messy breakup. Believe me, those are not fun." Penny laughed to herself.

Leonard noticed Penny didn't bring her purse with her. "Did you want me to buy you a soda?"

"Nah, I'm okay. I just wanted to talk."

He smiled, but was still confused by all the attention he was receiving from Penny. "Oh, okay. So how was your date this weekend with…"

"Scott."

"Right, Scott. How was it?"

Penny sighed. "I mean, he was nice and all, but I'm starting to get really tired of these tall, good looking, popular guys."

Leonard just looked at her. "Yeah, I can see where that would get old real quick."

"I'm just saying. They're just never going to respect me. They're always going to expect me to do stuff with them and in the end, everything nice they say is just total crap. You know?"

"Well, like you told me, I think you deserve better too. _Definitely_ better than Scott."

Penny tilted her head. "What do you mean by 'definitely'?"

Leonard hesitated. "Uh, I just heard he's a jerk. That's all."

"Liar."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He said as he tried to walk away.

"Leonard, tell me. Why did you say that?"

Leonard looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "It's just, he wasn't saying the nicest things about you this morning…"

Penny looked stunned. "What did he say? Tell me the truth."

He sighed. "Don't be mad, but he sort of was bragging about getting 'some' from you this weekend…"

Penny got pissed. "Oh my gosh! That jerk! Why would he tell people that?!"

Leonard shrugged. "Some people are jerks, Penny. This is why I got mad at everyone this weekend. Personal relationships should be, well, personal. It's not everyone else's business."

She smiled a bit. "You're really smart, you know that?"

He smiled back.


	21. Chapter 21

Monday afternoon, Bernadette and Amy were on their way out of Biology club when they ran into Penny hanging out in the parking lot with the popular kids. They hesitantly approached her, confused by Scott's presence in the group.

Bernadette tapped Penny on the shoulder. "Hey Penny, what are you still doing at school?"

"Oh not much, just talking and whatnot." She responded. "Where are you two headed?"

Amy chimed in. "Bernadette is giving me a ride home. You just missed a fantastic meeting of the Biology Club. We just got a new shipment of formaldehyde soaked piglets, and mine had liver disease." She was beaming a bit excessively.

Penny and Bernadette smiled through it while the rest of the group stopped to look at Amy oddly. She spoke up. "How rude, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Amy Farrah Fowler."

Scott's eyes went a bit wide before he deliberately began avoiding eye contact. Trisha was amongst the group and decided to speak for them. "Yes, everyone, this is Amy. Amy, this is Scott, Lisa, Andrew, Mike, and Eric."

They all politely waved, minus Scott. Amy grabbed Bernadette's arm. "We'll be leaving now. See ya later homies."

Penny just laughed to herself. In a way, she felt good seeing Amy's confidence blossoming like that.

Bernadette whispered to Amy. "I hope Penny didn't decide to stick it out with Scott."

Amy was still in her zone. "This is awesome. Look at me, talking to the cool kids in the parking lot…"

* * *

Penny noticed her friends seemed critical. "What?"

Andrew looked to the side. "So who's Amy?"

"Oh this girl Bernadette started talking to on the first day. She's new this year, so you know how it is."

Scott was still looking smug. "Oh man, I can't believe she ended up here."

Penny flashed him a dirty look. "Excuse me?"

"That's the girl Jeremy screwed with last year. Remember Megan was telling you…"

"YES I remember, Scott. Thank you." He could tell Penny was starting to get pissed. "I thought you weren't involved with that. How do you know it was her?"

He laughed. "I still saw the pictures. Nice to see she grew a rack over the summer." The guys all laughed with him.

Trisha made a face. "Ugh, you guys are such pigs."

Scott carried on. "Anyway, Megan's throwing a party this weekend, and said I could invite whoever. So you guys should come."

Penny picked her bookbag off the ground. "Yeah, no thanks. I'm going home."

"What's your problem?"

"I just think you're kind of an ass when it comes to Amy. She may be a little weird I guess, but getting her kicked out of her old school is just too much."

Scott got pissed off. "Dammit Penny, I told you I had nothing to do with that!"

"You apparently had no problem laughing at the whole thing while it was happening."

"That's a lot of talk from someone who spent all of last year spreading rumors about Eddie just because you couldn't get him back."

Penny was mortified. "Go to hell, Scott!" She yelled as she marched off with her stuff.

"Penny, wait!" Trisha yelled. But Penny refused to turn around.

When she got to her car, she sped off to the other side of the school, but didn't leave the parking lot. She needed a moment to gather herself before leaving. She hated her old self. She hated how she couldn't stand her old friends now that she got to know nicer people. She hated how Scott and his friends didn't understand that a mindless prank almost ruined a young girl's life. And then just when she thought Scott might have been an exception, he proved that he had no respect for Penny either.

After a few deep breathing sessions, she looked up and noticed a few students carrying various musical instruments out of the school. She noticed they dispersed to their separate cars, while one remained behind holding his cell phone. She squinted her eyes and noticed the loner was Leonard. Penny quickly started her engine and drove over to him.

She rolled down her window. "Hey stranger, whatcha doin'?" She asked.

Leonard smiled. "Oh hey, Penny. I just got done practicing cello with my string quartet. I was about to call my mom to pick me up."

"Oh that's so cool, you play the cello?"

Leonard smirked. "I wouldn't call it cool, but yeah, I've been playing cello for 6 years now."

Penny smiled. "Nice."

"Yeah, luckily I had a growth spurt last year so I'm slightly too big to be stuffed in my own cello case."

Her heart went out to him. Incidents like these made her hate every mean thing she ever did. "How about I give you a ride home instead. Don't bother your mom."

Leonard half smiled. "You sure?"

"Yeah, no big. That's what friends are for."

Leonard raised his eyebrows. _Friends. Penny considers me her friend._

He smiled at the thought. _I like it._

* * *

The next day, Amy came to school refreshed and ready to learn and socialize. She was quite happy that her little slip up didn't ruin any long-term friendships.

The seven of them sat at their lunch table that afternoon, talking like they were the best of friends since the beginning of time. Then Amy noticed that Raj was speaking as well.

"Wait, you're not drinking at school, are you?" Amy asked Raj.

He just smiled. "No, Howard bought me these new pills that take away my social anxieties. And they're minty too!" He pulled out a little white bottle.

Howard hesitantly smiled. "Yeah, who would have known they sell such good 'medication' at Spencer's?"

Penny just gave him a look. "Seriously? What are these things?" She reached over the table and grabbed the bottle. "Anti—Anxiety tablets. Take two for a burst of fresh confidence when you need it."

Leonard leaned over and whispered in Penny's ear. "They're effectively mint flavored placebos, but just go along with it."

Penny smiled. "Oh, wow, that's great Raj. Good for you!"

Amy just snickered and whispered to Penny. "You're just adorable when you're this gullible."

She shook off the comment and went back to her lunch. Raj continued to speak. "So, did you guys hear about the Academic Bowl next week? They need six people to go, four to compete and two alternates. You guys want to take the Academic Team Test with me tomorrow to try out?"

Leonard lit up. "Yeah, sure, sounds like fun."

"I'm in." Howard added.

Bernadette smiled. "If you make the team, I'm going to come with you and be your personal cheerleader, Howie!"

He made a purring noise back at her, making everyone else a bit sickened by the cuteness.

Amy looked at Sheldon. "I'm assuming you'll be trying out as well."

He snickered. "Yes, well, the test is merely a formality. It boils down to whether or not I choose to participate."

"Well, perhaps I can try out too and give you a little competition." She said slyly.

He smiled and nodded. "Very well, but it's Howard who will end up suffering when the four of us take up all the available spaces."

He got insulted. "Hey, I'm just as smart as you guys. Who says I won't beat all of you?"

Sheldon let out a breathy laugh, but Howard still looked stoic. "Oh, that wasn't a joke? Well then, best of luck, Howard."

Howard just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Penny did the same. "Oh please, you guys are all so smart there will probably be a 5 way tie and you'll have to draw straws or something."

Sheldon thought about her statement. "You know, Penny may be right."

Leonard chuckled. "Remember he said that, Penny. It may be the only time in your life you'll ever hear him admit someone else is right."

Sheldon ignored him and continued. "Perhaps we should inform the coach that the test will need to be quite extensive and difficult to serve its purpose. Although again, it still won't leave Howard with much of a chance.

Howard didn't respond right away. He was all too familiar with Sheldon thinking he was the least intelligent of the group. He finally spoke up. "If I'm so dumb, how come I'm the first one of the group to get a real girlfriend?"

Sheldon gave him a derisive look. "Exactly my point. You insist on wasting time with foolish endeavors when you could be brushing up Quantum Mechanics. Or in your case, due to your interest in Engineering, using our work to invent neat little doo-hickeys."

Penny smirked. "And for the record, I know some guys that are living proof you can be dumb as a doornail and still get a girlfriend."

* * *

When Amy got home that afternoon, she went on her computer to do homework. Shortly thereafter, she received a call on Skype. From Sheldon.

"Good afternoon, Amy."

She nodded. "Good afternoon, Sheldon."

"I just wanted to clarify, are you planning on trying out for the Academic Bowl tomorrow?"

"Um, I guess. I hadn't really thought about it since our discussion at lunch. Why?"

"No particular reason. But if you do decide to take the test, there are some subject areas you may want to brush up on to ensure a spot on the team."

Amy nodded. "Very well. Are you sure you're alright with me trying out?"

"Absolutely. I think with your knowledge of biology and the social sciences combined with my knowledge of physics and, well, everything else, we would make a virtually unstoppable team." He said.

Amy smiled. "Is this your way of tell me that you want me to be there with you?"

"I respect your intelligence as well as…" He started.

"…and you want me there with you." She replied.

Sheldon sighed. "This isn't about that. I'm talking strictly from an academic standpoint. I believe you will make a good addition to our team."

"Okay, but if you think I'm so smart, why do you want me to study?" She asked.

"One can never be too prepared." Sheldon said. He looked a bit awkward with his response.

Amy just smiled. "Either way, Sheldon, I'll be there. I promise."


	22. Chapter 22

Wednesday afternoon, Amy and the guys took the Academic Team test as anticipated. They all left feeling like the test was relatively simple. Despite a handful of other students taking the test with them, they each remained confident in their abilities. Especially Sheldon.

"It's a shame one of us has to be an alternate. Howard." Sheldon said.

Howard shook his head. "Go ahead Sheldon, make fun. But I'll be the last one laughing when I make the team and one of your behinds is on the alternate bench."

Leonard decided to be the voice of reason. "Don't forget, we weren't the only five people taking the test. It's entirely possible that other people could have done well too. There were some non-science and math questions that could appeal to other intellects."

Amy nodded. "Leonard's right. Granted I'm unfamiliar with their intelligence levels, I believe some of them were seniors, giving them a bit of an advantage over us juniors."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Believe me, being trapped in this subpar academic institution for an additional year has practically hindered my intellectual growth more than anything else."

"We'll find out soon enough." She replied.

* * *

The next day at lunch, Penny sat down at the lunch table with Howard and Bernadette before the others arrived.

"So, Howard, how did your little nerdfest showdown thingy go yesterday?" She asked.

He smirked. "It went pretty well. Despite what Sheldon says, I think I may have a shot at making the team."

Bernadette kissed him on his cheek. "And I'm very proud of you either way."

Penny laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh you guys are such dorks."

Amy came over with Raj and sat down. "Mr. Leeman is handing out permission slips for the academic bowl this week if you guys would like to join us. It's after school in Glendale."

Bernadette smiled. "I'll go as long as Howie goes."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Why would I go? I'm the dumb one, remember?"

Amy explained. "Perhaps I should clarify. Anyone is allowed to attend to be part of our 'cheering section' if you will."

She still made a face. "Okay, but I thought you guys didn't even know if you made the team yet."

"Regardless, the rest of our social group will be there as a support system. Statistically speaking, one or more of us is bound to make the team."

Raj smiled and nodded. Before anyone could continue, Leonard came rushing over to the table with a list in hand. "Guess who made team captain? I did!"

Penny smiled. "Wow, good for you Leonard. Great job!"

Howard sat up straight. "That's the cut list?"

"Yeah, here. Check it out. You're here too!" Leonard replied. Howard, Raj and Amy all leaned forward to look at the list.

Howard started beaming. "Check it out, I made the fourth sport!"

Bernadette reached over and hugged him. "I knew you could do it. Congrats!"

Raj sank back in his chair. "Alternate? That sucks."

Amy smiled and did a little hop. "Second spot! Woohoo!"

Penny thought about it for a minute. She didn't actually look at the list. "So wait. That means Sheldon got third?"

Leonard looked to the side. "Well, actually…"

Sheldon came over and put his stuff down without saying a word. Amy look at him questioningly. "Are you okay, Sheldon?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He replied.

Amy checked the list again and noticed Sheldon was listed as an alternate. She looked back at him. "I'm so sorry Sheldon."

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Sheldon got up and went to get in line for lunch.

Penny was still confused. "Wait a second. Sheldon didn't make the team?"

Leonard sat down. "Apparently not."

"But I thought he was like really freaking smart."

"Yeah well, he tried to appeal to the coach, but he said that Sheldon got some of the easy questions wrong by overthinking them." He explained.

Raj was still sulking. "I knew I shouldn't have told my parents about the academic bowl. They're going to be pretty pissed to know I lost to Howard."

Howard folded his arms. "Hey! I'm right here!"

When Sheldon came back to the table, Amy sat there quietly trying to figure out how to make Sheldon feel better. "If you want, I can back out so you can have my spot."

Sheldon broke out into a loud wail and covered his eyes with his hands. Amy looked over at Leonard. "What did I do?"

Leonard looked to the side. "Yeah, that wouldn't do any good. Sheldon made second alternate. Raj would get placed before he did."

Penny continued to think. "So wait. If Leonard is captain, Amy's second, and Howard is fourth, who got the third highest score?"

At that moment, a girl with curly hair and glasses came over to the table.

"I just heard the news, Leonard. Kudos for making team captain. What'd you do to make Dr. Dumbass over here cry?"

Sheldon looked up. "He didn't make me cry. I'm simply wailing for humanity. Clearly the tryout test is outdated and needs to be modified to allow greater minds to succeed."

She smirked. "Even so, it still won't include questions on dumbassery. So you're out of luck."

Amy looked at this girl oddly. She looked back at Amy. "Hey, I don't believe we've met."

Leonard chimed in. "Amy, meet Leslie Winkle. She's in the string quartet with me."

Leslie nodded. "Amy Farrah Fowler?"

"Yes."

"Ah, well then congrats on making the team too. I look forward to working with you."

Amy nodded. "Thank you." She wanted to stand up for Sheldon, but she had no idea who this girl was and why Sheldon put up with her mocking.

Leslie said her goodbyes and walked off. Penny and Amy just looked at each other, equally confused. Penny decided to ask Leonard. "So, she made the team?"

"Yeah, she's a senior. Sheldon and Leslie have a bit of an academic rivalry going on."

Sheldon lifted his head. "It's not a rivalry. Leslie is just mean. And she caught a lucky break on the test."

Raj nodded. "I'm with you, Sheldon. She screwed both of us."

Amy started to feel bad again. "Are you going to be okay, Raj?"

"Yeah, I just have to find a way of telling my parents. They put a lot of pressure on me. 'You have to be the best. You have to get straight A's. You better end up valedictorian… blah blah blah.'"

Leonard put his hand on Raj's shoulder. "Believe me, I know how that is."

Raj just looked at Leonard. "They also tell me and my sister than we shouldn't be dating until college."

Leonard took his hand back. "Yes, I know that too. Priya told me. She also said she doesn't want anyone else finding out and maybe we should just talk online for a while."

Bernadette frowned. "That kind of sucks."

"Yeah…"

Amy broke up the sad conversation. "Raj, I'm not really into academic exploitation anyway. Take my spot on the team."

Raj looked up. "What? No, I can't do that. You earned it."

"It's no big deal. I'll just take your spot as an alternate."

Sheldon looked at Amy with disbelief. "Why would you want to do that?"

She continued. "It obviously means more to Rajesh than it does to me."

Sheldon stood up. "Amy, I'd like to have a word with you alone for a minute."

Raj smiled and looked a bit teary eyed. He really appreciated Amy's gesture. Amy quickly excused herself from the group and followed Sheldon to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Now Amy, you know as well as I do that being an alternate is less than desirable. Why would you give up your spot on the team?" He asked.

Amy folded her arms. "I only tried out because of you. I figured it was something we could do together. Why would I want to answer tedious questions with your friends when I could be sitting on the side with you, mocking everyone else as they answer incorrectly? So like I said before, Rajesh wants to compete far more than I do."

Sheldon put his hands up to his heart. "Amy Farrah Fowler, I don't know what to say."

She smiled. "Come on, let's go back to the table tell Raj it's okay."

"Now hang on a second. You just did something for nice for me, I believe I should do something nice for you as well."

Amy gave him a look. "Really? I don't think that's necessary."

He thought about it. "Well, you are getting to spend quality time with me in return. You're right, we're even." Sheldon walked right back to the lunch table.

Amy grimaced. "I shouldn't have said anything…"

* * *

That afternoon, the girls were able to gossip in gym class. They were supposed to be playing softball, but they mostly hung out in the dugout.

Bernadette looked at Amy. "That was really nice what you did for Raj earlier. Giving up your spot for him and all."

Amy shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I only auditioned to compete with Sheldon anyway."

Bernadette then directed her attention to Penny. "So do you want to come with us? We can chit chat on the bus together and cheer on the boys."

Penny thought about it. "I don't know. I guess I could. Oh sure, what the heck."

"Yay! This will be fun! Maybe you can talk to Leonard some more, now that things don't look so good for him and Priya."

"He just started talking to her a few days ago. They could work it out, you never know."

Bernadette exchanged glances with Amy. "He wouldn't have to if he had you…"

Penny rolled her eyes. "I told you, he seems very nice. But I think you guys are exaggerating. He doesn't seem all that interested in me. Maybe he just thinks I'm cute or something. Either way, I'm not getting in the middle of things for no reason. If he decides to ask me out someday, then I'll worry about it."

Amy leaned over to Bernadette. "I'll talk to Leonard. Perhaps we're approaching this from the wrong angle."

Bernadette nodded. "Speaking of couples, what's going on with you and Sheldon these days?"

Amy shrugged again. "Nothing new. Although we spoke on Skype for the first time this week."

"Now that's hot." Penny said sarcastically.

"Any post-school conversing with Sheldon is progress. Even so, I must say that I am content with our relationship thus far."

"Oh good." Bernadette said. "Howie and I are doing well too. Don't tell him I told you, but we totally got to fourth base during study hall…"

Penny crinkled her nose and looked at Bernadette. "You slept with Howard?"

"No silly. We kissed for a whole minute!"

"That's barely first base."

Bernadette looked confused. "First base is holding hands. Howard and I already made it to seventh base, but we are nowhere near twelfth base yet."

Amy shook her head. "I'm afraid Penny is correct. The social stigma is that there are only four bases, just like the softball game we are meticulously avoiding. If you have reached the fourth base, namely home plate, you are done rounding the bases. Thus, you have engaged in coitus."

Bernadette looked horrified. "What?! Derek told me that sex was twelfth base. No wonder everyone laughed at me last year when I said we went to third base the night we met!"

Penny tried not to laugh. "Wow that totally sucks. It's hilarious, but it sucks."

Bernadette got huffy and folded her arms. "I hate boys."


End file.
